


Nothing Burns Like the Cold

by botanistlester (Skeletonflowers)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Arson, Assassins & Hitmen, Blow Jobs, Boarding School, Character Death, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Phan - Freeform, Phanfiction, Pyromania, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Violence, bamf!dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-05-21 14:23:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 46,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6054841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeletonflowers/pseuds/botanistlester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Lester is ‘special’, having the power to manipulate water with just a flick of his hand. Because of this, he was transferred into the special school, Dahlia Academy, which was built to harbor students with magical abilities. Here, he meets Dan Howell, a cold and distant pyromaniac who doesn’t get close to anyone. (Based loosely off of the manga, Gakuen Alice).</p><p>Voted Best Chaptered fic in the phanfic awards 2016!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: arson, violence, vomit, murder, character death (dw its a happy ending), cussing.  
> Based loosely off of the anime/manga of Gakuen Alice. Due to popular demand, I’ve decided to make this into a chaptered fic. Thankfully, I’m pretty much done with it so updates will be every Friday! Thanks so much to @moonlitdan , @crescendohowell , and @whalefairyfandom12 for helping me with the story and giving me hashtag editing tips and thank you to @phantastische for the title! (all on tumblr). See you guys next friday!

The sun was hot on Phil's shoulders. Perhaps too hot for what was supposed to be a cooling November evening; maybe it wasn't even the sun at all, but instead Phil's own nerves that were overtaking him. 

The feeling of his mother's lips pressed against his cheek remained engraved into his skin, warm and sticky of lip balm, sticky like the tears that were running down her face as she hugged him close, promising that she would send as many letters as she could. They’d been followed by a pat on the back by his father and a tight smile that showed how much pain he was actually in. 

"I'll write to you often," Phil had promised, knowing that they would not have let him go otherwise. Despite the fact that it was literally against the law for him not to, now that he had been identified by the government as 'Special'. 

Ah yes, it was no secret anymore. Phil was now known as a special person, one that yielded abnormalities unknown to most other humans. It was rather a mutation, honestly, but there was nothing he could do about it now. 

The school loomed before him, white pillars holding up beautiful marble gargoyles. Phil could have sworn he saw the eyes flash red, but he was obviously mistaken, pressing his lips together. 

He was forced to come here, to the school known as Dahlia Academy. It was basically a school used to harbor and protect special students up until they reach the age of twenty, with no contact of the outside world until the day of graduation. No parents, no friends. Nothing. All that was allowed were the occasional letters to his parents, but they were strictly regulated. 

So what identified a child as Special? The concept was actually quite simple. A Special child must yield a power that no other human should be able to do. For some, this means telekinesis or teleportation; but for Phil? He could control water. This included any object that has a source of water in it; he could easily dissect the water from the source to manipulate it how he likes. 

Not very useful in his opinion, other than to make pretty waves in swimming pools. 

"Right this way, Mr. Lester," ordered the principal of the high school division, who was leading Phil into the academy. His face was hard, like he's seen many years of hardship. It made Phil feel somewhat uneasy for some reason. "I will get you a uniform and then you will be joining the college division of class B."

Phil nodded, smiling at him widely. He tried to keep the grin on his face despite the fact that his mum's crying face was burning in the back of his mind. It was times like these that he wished he could sit in a warm bubble bath and forget about life for a bit. 

The school uniform ended up being a blue undershirt with a white blazer over it and white pants. A blue "DA" was embroidered on the breast of the jacket, a nice contrast to the white colour. However, Phil couldn't help but feel like the white made him look more pale than he already was. 

"Here's your schedule," the principal said, giving him a sheet of paper. "The only class you'll be able to make it to today is science. Once there, you will be assigned a single partner for all of your classes to help you through the school year. They will then direct you to your dorm room and show you around the academy. Any questions?"

Phil shook his head despite all of the confusion running through his brain. Who will be my partner? I hope everyone likes me. 

"Alright, I'll take you to the classroom then. Right this way."

The halls of the school were gorgeous, with various intricate frescos on the walls, high ceilings and marble floors. It was so high class that Phil had to wonder how much tuition would be if it was just a normal school. 

They came to a stop outside of a large mahogany door with brass knobs. The principal gave Phil a reassuring pat on the back that seemed a bit too stiff before he lead the way in. 

The teacher, a man with long brown hair and glowing green eyes, stopped mid-sentence and smiled expectantly at the two. "Ah, Principal Glickstern! Is this the new student?"

The principal nodded, nudging Phil forward. "This is Phil Lester and he will be in your care for today, Mr. Parker. He needs a partner assigned who can show him around campus and help him with his studies."

Mr. Parker gave a worried look to the principal that was quickly washed away with another grin. "Very well. The only person who doesn't have a partner yet is Dan Howell," he openly cringed at the name when several students let out quiet gasps. "You may sit next to him for today, all the way in the seat at the back."

Phil followed his pointing finger to an empty space in the back where a guy with brown hair was leaning back in his chair with a book over his face, clearly sleeping. His feet were on the desk in front of him, clad in spiked shoes that should have been against the school's rules. 

Shrugging off the feeling of unease, he strode over to the brunette, sitting down confidently next to him. "Hi," he greeted enthusiastically, taking notice of the students who had turned around in their seats to watch the exchange. "I'm Phil Lester. Looks like I was assigned to be your partner." 

The brunette reached up a large hand with pale fingers, taking the book off his face with a smooth motion. His eyes opened and focused on Phil's face, and he realized with a clenched stomach that this guy had stunning brown eyes with a tinge of red in their depths.The only problem was that they were ice cold, like he had absolutely no feelings at all. On his ears were a pair of earrings, one black and one red, and Phil realized with a jolt that these were power restraints. 

The only way Phil realized this was because he had a power restraint in the form of a bracelet that was clasped on his arm the moment he walked into the academy. They had told him it was for safety reasons, to assure that his power wouldn't be used in such a way that it could be dangerous. When he had asked why he needed such a thing if the only power he had was to control water, the principal had only responded with, 

"Did you know that blood is made out of mostly water?"

Phil shivered when he thought of using his power for such an act. 

"Shut the fuck up, ugly," the 'Dan' kid snarled, giving him a look right out of the depths of hell. 

Phil's stomach sank, but he smiled anyways because his mother always taught him to be nice to people no matter what they say, because you never know what ultimately forms a personality such as this, or why they seem to hate the world. 

"I was assigned as your partner," Phil stated, getting a notebook from his bag. "I'm Phil Lester. I assume you're Dan? It's nice to meet-."

"I said," Dan growled once more, "shut the fuck up."

In an instant, Phil's notebook caught on fire, the red and blue flames seeming to represent a part of Dan's soul. Angry, seeming to never rest. Phil was saddened that he could pick up this much from him even though they'd just met. 

With a sigh, Phil put his right hand over the flame while his left hand dipped into a water bottle that he never fails to always carry. He shut his eyes, feeling the heat of the flame on his skin, feeling the coolness of the water as it trailed into his fingertips. 

The flame disappeared into a mass of steam, and Phil directed it back into his water bottle where it melted back into water. 

The entire class was silent except for the teacher, who seemed to have droned on despite the ruckus that was taking place in the back. Phil looked up to find dozens of eyes on his face, a pair of dark burgundy eyes holding cold fire in their depths as well. 

"Fire manipulation, huh?" Phil observed, trying his hardest to be nice to this Dan character. "That's cool."

"It's much better than that lame ass water trick you did." Dan looked to a guy beside him with curly brown hair and green eyes the colour of grass "PJ, let's leave. I'm done trying to put up with this utter twat." PJ nodded and they were gone, walking straight out of the class without so much of a glance from the teacher. 

"He's like that," a guy whispered from in front of him. This person as well had brunette hair and hazel eyes, but he seemed actually nice. "Don't take it to heart. Dan doesn't talk to anyone other than PJ." He paused at Phil's concerned look. "I'm Chris, by the way. I have the ability to heal people's wounds and transfer the pain to other things if needed. It was amazing how easily you put out Dan's flame. No one could ever really do that."

Phil shrugged, caressing the newly burned corner of his notebook. "It was nothing, really. My ability is only really good for water games and putting out fires."

"You have a restraint though?"

"The principal said it's for the safety of other students. Like water could ever harm anything." 

Chris nodded, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, since Dan completely ditched you, did you need someone to show you to your room?"

"Yeah, I do!"

"Okay, I'll do it!" Chris exclaimed. He seemed really excited about it, like he was happy to be talking to Phil. Phil was glad that at least one person was nice. "It's a pretty easy campus to understand. The primary school, secondary school, and college all have different dorm halls so it's pretty easy to find ours."

Class was over relatively quickly, leaving Chris to show Phil around. Chris seemed to be a really nice person, with a large smile and warm eyes that welcomed any person walking past. He could imagine that they would eventually become close friends in the future. 

"-And here is your dorm!" Chris finished excitedly, stopping in front of a wooden door labeled Room 334. "The inside is rather empty as of now, but you can always decorate it once you start getting allowance. Allowance starts at about £30 and increases depending on your grades. I believe Dan Howell makes the most right now since he's number one in the class, but nobody knows how much the total actually is." 

"That grumpy guy?" Phil mused, cracking open the door to reveal a regular sized room with wooden floors, a big tan rug, a closet, dresser, and a twin sized bed. He remembered the way Dan's eyes flamed as soon as Phil attempted to speak to him. "What's his problem anyways?"

Chris shrugged and came beside him, peeking into the room with an air of nonchalance. "Rumour has it that he burned down his entire town three years ago, which is why he ended up coming to school here. The government hid it by stating it was arson." 

Phil remembered faintly hearing about a giant fire a few years back along with a news article about how the arsonist was never caught, but that it had destroyed the town and killed quite a few people. 

He wondered if it was the same town that Dan had lived in. 

"Even if it was his fault, it's not really anybodies business, though," Phil thought aloud. He ignored Chris' wide eyed look and continued, "He probably didn't do it on purpose, anyways. Kids do things they don't mean to sometimes, and he hadn't had the proper training for his ability back then that he does now. And who knows? Maybe he's so bitter now because of that incident. We should really just stop judging people based on how they act." 

Chris' eyes grew ever larger when a voice spoke up behind Phil, cold enough to freeze the blood in his veins. "Stop acting like you know a damn thing." Phil turned to come face to face with the emotionless eyes of Dan Howell himself. "Keep my name out of your damn mouth."

Phil could feel his throat burning with the longing to lash out at him, but his mum's words sliced through his mind like a cool summer breeze on a hot night. Be kind no matter what, and it may change someone's life. He changed his anger into a grin, digging his nails into his palms to stop from biting into Dan's smug look. "Say what you want," Phil commented, "but I refuse to think that you're as bad as you make yourself seem."

Dan's expression turned taken aback for a split second before becoming completely expressionless once again. He scoffed, shoving Phil out of his way with an elbow. His flaming hot skin against Phil's ice cold made a shock run through his body. "Just stay out of my way if you know what's good for you." He then proceeded to retreat down the hall, leaving Phil with a chest full of annoyance and a yearning to just stop being nice already. 

He decided right then that he would be nice to Dan until the boy cracked, showing him the layers underneath the cold exterior. That look of shock had told Phil all he needed to know: that Dan was acting like a badass to protect his own vulnerability.


	2. Chapter 2

Phil didn't see Dan for a few days after that. Not like he minded too much, of course, but he wondered why the school allowed the boy to skip classes when they got on everyone else's asses about it. Rumours, of course, told Phil that Dan was being used as an undercover agent for the academy, allowing Dan to get away with a lot of shit. He didn't believe a thing anyone was trying to tell him, going by his mum's words and refusing to judge a person until he knew them personally.

On the brighter side, Phil seemed to have been accepted into the class relatively quickly. He had been lowkey worried about it, wondering if people would shun him because he had gotten to the academy so late in his life.But If anything, that just made him more likeable because apparently he had had really good control over his powers for the government not to have picked up on them for so long. His classmates repeatedly asked him for his secrets, how he controlled it so well, also asking him to 'do that cool water thingy again'. Apparently element-based powers were pretty hard to come by, which explained Dan's popularity despite his asshole behavior.

"Do you feel as if you've settled in well?" Principal Glickstern asked as Phil was heading out of class. He had only been there for three days, which was three days too long in his opinion.

Phil nodded slowly, trying to dissect the look from the guy's face, coming up with nothing. "It's fine," he replied with a smile. "Everybody is really nice."

The principal nodded as if he expected the answer and his eyes showed no emotion towards what Phil was saying. "Today, students go off to their assigned power groups. There are five groups of power abilities: Somatic, Latent, Special, Technical, and Dangerous. Somatic is emotion and pheromone based powers, such as talking to animals. Latent is the common powers, like telekinesis or teleportation. Special ability is for those who don't fit in any category, and Technical is for those who are able to build things or who are above average in technical knowledge." His eyes raked over Phil's body, making him shuffle nervously. "Last is the dangerous ability class, reserved specifically for those with dangerous powers."

Phil cocked his head and bit his lip, the feeling in the stomach getting worse. "And which class am I in?"

Eyes, completely void of feeling. "Dangerous."

Phil's eyes widened. "I don't think-? But my ability isn't dangerous?"

Principal Glickstern waved his hand, dismissing his confusion. "Water can do a lot of damage, Phil Lester. It has already been decided that your ability is danger-."

"I swear to god, if you put him in the dangerous ability class, I will personally burn you to a crisp," a cold voice snarled. Phil whipped his head around to stare at Dan in shock as the brunette conjured a ball of flames in one hand.

"Daniel Howell," Principal Glickstern sneered. "Why are you defending this boy?"

Dan's eyes glanced over to Phil's face for a second before rolling them and looking back at the principal. "I'm not defending him," he muttered. "But the guy is basically harmless. Water? Please! He couldn't even squish a bug if he tried. That guy is as far away from dangerous as you can get."

The principal moved closer to Dan, so their faces were almost level. "If Phil joins the class, you will have less work to do, Dan. Wouldn't you like that?"

Dan visibly stiffened, red warning flags going up in Phil's mind. But Dan only shrugged it off, scoffing. "Give me double, I don't give a shit. Phil Lester is not being in the dangerous ability class if he wants to live."

Phil's eyebrows rose so high he imagined them blending into his hairline. "I won't bother you, Dan, if that's what you're worried about," he stated warmly, giving the brunette a small smile.

Dan scoffed, giving him a hard glare. "Just mind your own business, Lester." He gave Principal Glickstern a cold look before stalking off, shouldering through the throng of students until he was out of sight.

The principal's lips were set in a hard line, his eyes beady and cool. He finally let out an exasperated sigh, wiping invisible dust from his overcoat jacket. "So be it," he muttered. "Since Howell refuses to have you put into the dangerous ability class, you will be placed into the special ability. They reside in classroom 210 and will teach you how to have a better handle on your powers when you arrive." His eyes looked over Phil once more, a glance of pure ice. "Good day, Philip."

Phil cringed at the use of his full name but bid him a good day as well, sighing. He didn't understand what he did to make Dan hate him so much, but from the looks of it, Dan was like this to everyone. Although, he did seem a bit odd back there. Sort of like a kid defending his favourite stuffed animal. It made Phil's stomach twist uncomfortably, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason other than hate for why Dan didn't want Phil in there.

Recollections of the other students saying how Dan was a special ops agent for the academy went through his mind. Immediately, he shrugged it off. Dan would never let something like that happen.

Right?

The special ability class welcomed Phil with open arms and bright smiles. He was immediately crushed into a group hug that left him gasping for breath and giggling despite his lack of air.

"Welcome, Phil!" They chimed, beginning their own introductions. There was a blonde American named Tyler, a girl with silver hair named Cat, and a girl with blonde and pink hair named Louise. So many people came up and introduced themselves that Phil couldn't even keep track of them.

That was when he saw a guy with curly brown hair, sitting in the corner with a book in his lap. He seemed disinterested in his surroundings, as if everyone was a nuisance. Phil had never had a conversation with PJ considering he was always hanging around with that Dan kid, but he realized he wanted to change that.

When the attention was away from his wandering form (he faintly heard someone mention a festival before pushing it back to the edge of his mind), Phil inched over to where PJ was resting, ignoring the look of pure ice when the boy realized what he was doing. "Can I help you?" It was the first time Phil had ever heard the brunet talk, and he was pleased to find that it was smoother than he imagined it, with a southern tinge that was barely noticeable.

"What are you reading?" Phil chirped. His voice came out more high-pitched than he originally aimed for, trying not to cringe at the tone.

PJ narrowed his eyes at him. Phil imagined he was trying to see through him, look past his skin and bones to see if he was lying underneath the gentle exterior. Thankfully for PJ, Phil was 100% genuine. Once he found no trace of deception, he folded the book over so the cover was visible, reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

"Good book?" It was a tad hard to keep a conversation with someone who refused to talk back, but Phil wasn't deterred in the slightest. If anything, it made him want to force words out of PJ's mouth even more.

PJ pursed his lips, visibly annoyed. Phil could tell that he was trying to keep his cool and he wondered if PJ just hated him because Dan hated him. "Yeah."

"Phil!"

Trying not to pout due to exasperation from being interrupted from his interrogation. He turned to find Louise grinning at him, resembling the Cheshire Cat with the way her smile was literally ear-to-ear. "Yeah?"

She giggled and messed with her hair a bit, the strands of yellow and pink washing over her shoulders like a white chocolate dipped strawberry. "Looks like you've joined the school at exactly the right time!"

He raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"Because the Dahlia Academy festival is coming up in a couple of days!" When Phil showed no sign of excitement, she glared at him, her lips pushing out into a bubble-gum pink pout. "Each ability class is allowed to come up with an attraction for the festival that would be fun for outside guests to visit. Whoever gets the most visitors wins a big trophy and is granted twice the amount of money in allowance for an entire month!"

"Outside visitors?" Phil echoed. His mind immediately went to his family, his mum's smile, his father's cologne, and the way Martyn would ruffle his hair every time he passed. Does that mean...?

Louise nodded, but she looked a bit sad when she did, smiling apologetically at him. "The academy sends invitations out to a certain amount of people each year. Typically, it's past students and teachers who are invited. They always make sure not to send any to parents of the current students."

"Apparently they think it's more likely for students to rebel against the school if they get to see their parents during training," PJ muttered under his breath.

Phil tried not to let the words get to him, pushing the thoughts of his family to the side. Just a few more years, he thought bitterly. He wondered if his mum would still look the same when he saw her or if Martyn will have gotten through Uni with a degree in telecommunications like he was originally going for. "So what are you guys thinking of doing then?" Now that the initial disappointment of his parents not being able to come was dispersing, he was starting to feel a bit more excited about the festival.

Cat popped in then, seeming to appear out of thin air. Phil wondered if that was her ability, or if he was just not paying attention before. "A haunted house!"

PJ scoffed, slamming his book shut to glare daggers into the small group of three. "A haunted house? Are we three years old?"

"I think it sounds fun," Phil interjected. Granted, he was a bit confused as to how that would be a fun attraction, but he wanted to see what the special ability class had in store for it.

"How would we even make that work anyways? In order to have a good attraction, we all need to be able to use our abilities in it. If I have anything to say, water isn't exactly the scariest thing in existence. And neither is being able to shapeshift into a cat." He sneered that comment at Cat, allowing Phil to finally find out what her ability is without having that awkward conversation later.

"I can make water scary," Phil said. "And having different abilities is a good thing in a haunted house. That way we can use different tactics to scare everybody."

Letting out a grunt, PJ stood up. His face was scrunched up as if he smelled something disgusting and his green eyes were cold; the exact way Dan's were when he looked at Phil for the first time. "Well, good luck with that. I'm not having any part of it."

"Wait-!" Louise whined, but he was already out the door before her sentence started, slamming closed on the suddenly quiet classroom. Louise sighed. "I don't understand why Peej does this."

Phil frowned and put his arm around Louise's shoulders. "Don't worry," he said, "I'll get him to join us and we will have the best haunted house in the entirety of Dahlia Academy."

Now if only Phil could figure out how, exactly, to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading guys! This chapter was a bit boring but no worries, the next one has a lot of stuff planned! Comments make my day better and I'll see you next friday <3


	3. Chapter 3

The hallways were empty and everything was dark. Phil should be in bed, asleep like the rest of the school, but he failed miserably at that. His mind was full of special ops and fire and restraints.

He emerged into a garden after exiting through a door, the moon lighting up hundreds of flowers and making them expel a blue tint. It was absolutely beautiful and Phil wondered why no one had shown it to him until he stumbled across it himself. There was a small gazebo in the midst of the flowers, white and delicate. It had intricate patterns that made it look as if it was made for the queen herself, too pure for Phil's own hands.

He made his way over to it, his favourite book clasped in his hand. He figured he may as well find a spot to read while he was out, a spot that isn't enclosed between four empty walls that reminded him of just how utterly alone he was here. He'd always been sort of an outcast in his life, especially since he realized that controlling liquid was something that not everyone could do. That was why he eventually kept to himself, enthusing more about books than about human interaction.

The book he brought just so happened to be The Count of Monte Cristo. He absolutely loved the prestigious way it was read and how he could get lost in the pages for hours and hours. He loved the feeling of complete and utter betrayal of the theme, the raw revenge that the Count enacts as a way to get out his vengeance for his colleagues setting him up and being wrongfully thrown in prison.

Phil sat on the bench under the gazebo, shivering at the slight wetness from the dew forming on the wood. His ears were nearly ringing at how quiet it was, the rustling of the book pages like gunshots. He didn't know how long he was out there for, eyes locked on words, slightly drooping the more tired he became.

Eventually, he was nearly asleep, book sliding to his side and head resting on the wood behind him. His eyes were closed and his knees were brought to his chest, arms hugging them close. The only sound was of his breathing.

Rustling, followed by a loud slam, woke him from his daze, nearly falling from the bench in a start. His eyes landed on a dark figure curled up on the ground in front of him, half in the gazebo, half out.

"You okay, mate?" Phil asked unsurely, voice scratchy from disuse. When he received no reply, his heart sped up and he got to his feet. "Hello? You okay?"

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Dan. His eyes were closed and it looked as if he were breathing shallowly, an angry red mark on his cheek and his black restraint mask resting beside him on the wood. His hair was even curling, which was very unlike the straightness of his typical.

"Dan?!" Phil exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside him. Dan let out a small whimper in response, but otherwise didn't move. He moved the brunet over so that he was lying on his back. That was when he saw large cuts down his neck, like claw marks. He suspected this wasn't the cause of his unconsciousness, though, and he suddenly remembered a lesson his teacher was ranting about the other day.

"People have different lifespans to their powers. Some people's powers are too powerful for their bodies and can eventually lead to their deaths."

Phil's blood ran cold and he grabbed Dan, lifting him into his arms. He didn't mind that Dan was nearly 6"4' or that his arms were shaking, book forgotten on the ground. All he cared about was taking Dan to safety. "Dan? I'm taking you to the infirmary. You need medical attention ASAP."

That caused a stir from the boy, who gasped and rasped out, "No infirmary. Please." He shuddered with each breath and Phil couldn't help the pain in his heart from seeing him like this.

"Where else do you expect me to take you? You're in a lot of pain and probably have to go to the hospital."

"Your room," Dan whispered. He didn't say anything else, but he was quivering pretty badly. Phil pushed Dan's face into his neck, cradling him to his chest much like a baby as he contemplated.

Dan obviously needed some medical attention, but Phil didn't know his situation or why he was like this. He in pain, cut, and bruised, and Phil couldn't do a damn thing about it. On the other hand, bringing Dan to the infirmary when he specifically asked Phil not to, especially when he was having so much trouble talking, felt like Phil would be betraying his trust. He wanted Dan to trust him, to not be such a cold and distanced person. So this would help that, right?

He ended up taking Dan to his room.

Dan was barely conscious by the time they arrived, letting out slight groans into Phil's neck every few minutes. If they weren't in this situation, the gesture would feel a bit more intimate. But Phil decided not to dwell on that and told his cheeks to stop flushing red, laying Dan on his bed. Very carefully and with Dan's agreement, he began to dress the boy into some more comfortable sleepwear, averting his eyes as he removed Dan's shirt and jeans to be replaced with a pair of joggers. He had whined at the mention of a shirt, so Phil agreed not to force him to wear one, staring curiously at the row of bruises on his ribs that looked suspiciously like fingerprints.

Fire raged through Phil's veins at the thought of someone doing this to Dan.

But he knew he couldn't vocalize these thoughts to the boy laying in his bed. So he shoved the words to the back of his throat, swallowing them down until they were crushed beneath his ribs and at the bottoms of his lungs. "Grunt if you're okay," Phil whispered. Dan grunted in response, making Phil feel relieved. "I'll be sleeping on the floor if you need me. Wake me up if you need help."

As he was turning to go to his makeshift bed on the floor, a hand steeled around his wrist, looking him in place. He turned to see Dan's eyes locked onto his, burning with intensity despite the half-lidded glare. "Dan?" He mumbled, cheeks going aflame.

With a small huff, Dan yanked him onto the bed with him, shuffling over so that he was now on the other side of the bed and Phil was sprawled on the opposite. "Not taking your bed. Share or I'm on floor." His sentences were broken but Phil paid no mind to that fact, knowing how much pain he must be in.

"But-!"

"Shut the fuck up. Sleep."

Phil grumbled under his breath but didn't say anything else about it, allowing his body to relax as he shuffled under the blankets. Knowing Dan was next to him was weird, as if he expected Dan to burn him to a crisp in his sleep, even though he knew he never would. Although Dan may try to sound all tough and mighty, his words had hardly any impact because he never went through with it. If he was as bad as he seemed, he would have allowed Phil to join the dangerous ability class with no protest. Yet, he was right there, protecting Phil with everything in him. And Phil is nearly certain he does the same with everyone else.

A shuffling on the bed brought Phil's attention from his thoughts to the boy lying next to him. It'd been awhile since they'd talked, so Phil assumed Dan had fallen asleep. He looked over to see Dan with an expression of discomfort on his face, legs kicking out underneath him. There was sweat flowing down his face and he looked sickly pale.

"Dan?" Phil murmured groggily, shuffling closer to him. His right arm dipped into the glass of water next to his bed briefly, gathering as much moisture into his palm as possible without making it soaking wet. He felt a tingling up his arm as he cooled the temperature, not making it quite freezing, but ensuring it was cooler than room temperature.

He shuffled closer to Dan, not really minding personal boundaries, and brought his damp hand to Dan's forehead, pressing it against his face. Immediately, his skin cooled (Phil could have sworn he even heard sizzling when the water touched skin, but that was probably just his imagination) and Dan visibly gained some colour in his cheeks.

"Mum," Dan whimpered.

Phil felt an ache in his heart as the sound. He wondered what happened to Dan's parents, how he ended up here, and if the rumors of the fire were true. That didn't matter now, though. Sliding his wet hand to the back of Dan's neck, he pulled the brunet into his chest as some sort of comfort, rubbing his other hand down his spine. "It's okay, Dan. It's just a nightmare. Everything is going to be alright."

As if by magic, all the tension in Dan's face dissolved into the air, leaving behind that childlike innocence that only sleep brought with it. Phil resisted the urge to press his lips to Dan's forehead as he would with a child, and instead studied the sleeping face of Dan Howell. He looked so much more at peace, much less like he hated the world and more like he was hiding his feelings behind a cold exterior. The wrinkles had subsided from his eyebrows and his lips weren't in a permanent grimace, instead soft and parted slightly. His dark eyelashes left long crescents against his cheekbones, little half moons that told their own stories.

He was beautiful like this and Phil found himself thinking of how he wished Dan would look this way all the time. That was the thought he fell asleep to, Dan's slow breathing and warm body lulling him into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing Phil noticed when he woke up was warmth. He was so warm he was almost sweating, hot from the tip of his head to the soles of his feet. It was quite a strange feeling, considering his own natural body temperature was typically quite cold. Followed by the realization of being warm, he also took into consideration a breeze blowing in his face and something pressed to his hip.

That was when he remembered and his eyes flew open, coming face-to-face with a pair of mahogany irises.

"Get. The fuck. Off of me." The voice was a low snarl, at the back of Dan's throat as if he'd been waiting for Phil to wake up just so he could say them. In response, Phil wiggled out of Dan's grip (why was he even holding him in the first place if he was so pissed off?) and huffed.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Phil shot back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stretched his arms above his ears, feeling his shirt ride up a bit at the gesture. He also pretended not to notice the way Dan's eyes lingered (albeit a bit coolly) on his exposed skin.

Dan let out a noise that was halfway between a growl and a snort. Phil wondered what sort of animal made that noise. A brief moment later, he felt a hot wave a bit too close to his ear for comfort and pressed his lips together, unimpressed. "When will you learn that your fire tricks don't affect me?" Phil asked cockily, dipping his fingers into his glass of water before cupping his hand around the small flame. It went out with a sizzle, wisps of smoke rising into the air like ghosts falling in love.

"I'll fucking burn you, Lester. Don't tempt me."

This time, Phil rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you would." His tone came across more sarcastic than he'd have liked, but he wasn't complaining.

Dan gave him an unimpressed look, which wasn't at all different than his normal expression. Phil liked to pretend, anyways. "Whatever, Lester. I'm leaving."

Phil scoffed. "No thank you for last night? I saved your life, you know."

"I would have been fine even without you there."

"Right." It was Phil's turn to look unimpressed, trying not to feel that little pang of disappointment in his chest as Dan started to walk towards the door. "I'm glad you're doing better today anyways. You really scared me there last night."

Dan's gaze lingered on his face for a couple of seconds before he gave Phil a small smirk and walked out the open door, leaving Phil to stare after him. He really was a wonder. Dan Howell, pyromaniac and sociopath. The title had a nice ring to it.

Phil huffed and fell backwards onto his bed with a muffled groan. He felt absolutely exhausted, a glance to his bedside table showing it was half nine. If he took much longer, he would most likely miss breakfast. For some reason, the thought of food wasn't exactly appealing.

But that could also be from his rude awakening.

A small shimmer broke his internal meltdown, snapping his gaze over to his window sill. On it sat a rock, about the size of a large grape, and was the colour of blood, mixed with orange swirls. Phil furrowed his eyebrows as he sat up, reaching over to grab it. The stone was smooth under his fingertips, unblemished, and feeling strangely warm on his skin.

"How did this get here?" He murmured to himself. After many moments of failing contemplation, he sighed and slipped it into his pockets. He'd have to ask Dan later if he saw it in his room before he'd left.

But for now? Breakfast.

The canteen was full of students yawning and rubbing their sleep-encrusted eyes. Admittedly, Phil was one of them, barely able to keep his eyelids open after staying up nearly the entire night with Dan. If only the other students knew Dan had come to him for help, he thought amusedly before scowling when he realized no one would really care.

The one strange thing about Dahlia Academy was the fact that each student had assigned seats in the cafeteria. (Lucky for Phil, his seat was diagonal from Dan's - note the sarcasm - and right next to Chris). They were all expected to come down to breakfast by ten in the morning or else there would be consequences, according to Principal Stevenson. During breakfast, each student would be able to mail letters and would also receive them if their family sent some in. That process was going on when Phil took his seat.

"Chris Kendall!" The mailman shouted, earning a shout from the receiving male. "Philip Lester!"

Phil pressed his lips together and stood up to grab the small envelope. He wondered what was contained in it, considering it had only been about a week since he'd arrived. Did his parents miss him that much?

Apparently so, he found out as he cracked open the letter, ripping it open to find a card with a lame picture of Darth Vader on the front. When he opened it, the imperial march began to play pathetically and he blinked in surprise at the words.

Glad to see you've joined the dark side! He scoffed, rolling his eyes and smiling as he began to read his mum's sloppy handwriting underneath.

Dear Phil,

Home feels so empty without you in it! Last night, I even accidentally made an extra plate of tortellini before I realized you weren't here! That's okay though, your brother made sure to eat all of the leftovers. How is school? I'm sure you're fitting in perfectly fine. You were always really good at making friends, and I knew you were special since I first laid eyes on you, although I never would have guessed just HOW special you were! We miss you so much and can't wait to see you again!

Much love, Mum, Dad, and Martyn.

The letter made a pang of remorse course through Phil's bones, settling in the pit of his stomach just as he had felt last night at the sight of Dan. Thus far, it hadn't really hit him that he couldn't see his family anymore. But when he saw the loops and curls of his mum's writing, he could feel his face sag and his fingers begin to tremble slightly. This wasn't a fucking boarding school, this was a prison.

"You okay, mate?" Chris asked from beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dan, who had been easily ignoring him all morning, shoot him a look. He decided not to comment and instead focused on the question at hand.

"Yeah. I just realized how much I missed my mum," he muttered, sliding the card back into it's envelope. He tried to hide the way his hands were shaking by taking a drink of his stupid boxed milk.

Chris, trying to be a good friend, gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his back. Phil didn't tell him that his attempts were in vain. "We've all been there, it gets better in a few weeks."

And while that may be true, it wasn't exactly helping in that moment.

He slipped the card into his back pocket, blinking when he felt the smoothness of the red stone as he did so. It was still warm, probably due to the fact that Phil's butt was resting upon it, but just rubbing his fingers over it made him calm down slightly. It was almost as if it was sucking every single one of his worries out of his body and replacing them with good vibes and relaxation. 

Of course, Chris noticed, following the movement of his hand. "What's that?"

Phil sighed and showed him the rock, the fact that Dan tensed in the corner of his eye not going past him. He'd have to ask about his reaction later. "I found this stone on my window sill this morning. I have no idea how it got there, but it's pretty cool I suppose."

Chris gaped at him, the epitome of a fish out of water. Eyes wide, mouth wide open, unblinking. "Phil," he breathed. Phil gave him a strange look. "That's a fucking Ability stone."

"A what?"

"Ability stone," he enunciated, making Phil feel as if he was a bit stupid. "Basically, if you're skilled enough with your ability, you can make it into a physical object. It doesn't really do anything, to be completely honest, unless you find someone who can insert the stones into your body. In that case, you would be able to start using the ability. But that's beside the point."

"Chris, please get on with your point."

His friend rolled his eyes and made a tsking noise. "Patience, young grasshopper." He stretched his arms above his head, seeming to take his time, making Phil grow more irritated by the second. "There's a tradition at the academy, popular especially around Valentine's Day, where if you give someone your ability stone, it's basically confessing your love for them. And if they give you their stone back, it means you're supposed to be together forever."

Phil's mind was spinning. He set down his fork and gazed down at the stone in his palm. Who could have given it to him? The only person he'd had in his room at all was Dan, and that was a bit far-fetched to think Dan would do something as cliche as this. A look up at Dan confirmed his suspicions, watching as his curly-haired friend, PJ, blabbered in his ear. Dan's expression remained completely the same, although it was definitely a bit softer than when he was confronting Phil, like he didn't mind how much PJ talked, even looking a bit engaged. So this is what Dan looks like when he cares about someone, huh?

"But I've only been here for a week," Phil commented, rolling the stone around between his fingers. "No one could develop feelings for me in that amount of time."

Chris took a menacing bite of his own breakfast sandwich, raising his eyebrow. "You'd be surprised, Lester. A guy as nice and good looking as you can stir up a bit of a riot in the school. Most of us have known each other since we were wee babies because most people can't really hide their powers for long from the government. So of course, a piece of new meat with dreamy blue eyes and an affinity with water comes marching in and what do you get?"

"An outsider?" Phil joked.

"No, dumbass. You get a whole fan club."

The only good that did for Phil was to make him grimace and deny it while he finished his breakfast in thoughtful silence. The stone was burning a hole through his pocket, unable to just quietly disappear into the back of Phil's thoughts.

He caught Dan thirty minutes before class started, finding him walking down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. Strangely, there weren't really many students out today, but Phil figured it was because they were all trying to get some last minute snoozes in before class began. "Dan!" He exclaimed, bounding up to him with long strides. The brunet continues to walk, making him sigh in exasperation. Without even thinking about it, he reached out and grabbed Dan's hand. Immediately, he yelped and pulled away, cradling his newly burnt hand and glaring at his partner. "What the hell?" He hissed.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Dan just sounded bored, his eyes half lidded as he turned to regard Phil. On the bright side, he didn't seem as angered by Phil's presence as normal. "What the hell do you want, Lester?"

Phil huffed, pressing his lips together. Before he replied, he poured some water onto his burn, watching in distaste as the burn started to fade away, leaving only a red mark in its leave. For a second, he could have sworn Dan looked a bit shocked at the healing of his hand, so he answered the unspoken answer, "My body is made of considerably more water than the average human, which allows me to heal slight injuries. I don't really know how to explain it myself, honestly." After rubbing his hands together, he finally acknowledged what Dan had asked. "In response to your question, I found a pretty stone on my windowsill. Did you see it before you left this morning?" He showed the stone proudly, watching as Dan barely even glanced at it.

"No."

His answer was short and cold and Phil frowned unhappily. "You had to have seen it! It was right on the sill!"

"I didn't see the fucking rock, Phi-."

"Dan!" An unfamiliar voice rang out through the trees, and Dan visibly cringed. Phil was about to question him when suddenly, a hand was over his mouth and he was being pulled off the path and into the forest.

Dan's hands were warm against his face, smelling of firewood and leaves, and Phil made a noise of surprise which was quickly followed by Dan telling him to "shut the fuck up". He was shoved under a small bridge covering a dip in the ground. His cheeks burned in confusion as Dan brought him close to his chest, hand still pressed to his mouth while his other arm wrapped around his waist. Phil was basically sitting on top of him, the feeling of Dan's breath against the nape of his neck bringing shivers to rack his body.

"Dan?" Phil questioned through the palm over his lips, at the same time that the unknown person called the name as well.

"I swear to God, Phil, if you don't shut the fuck up right now, I will roast you." Half out of shock from being called by his name from Dan, and half from fear, Phil decided to listen for once and stopped his talking. The silence following was deafening, just the ragged breathing of Dan and the loud crunching of leaves as someone stepped through the trees.

"Dan, I know you're out here!" The voice was teasing, dripping of poison. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

A black boot appeared in Phil's line of vision and Dan's grip around him tightened. He felt the overwhelming urge to comfort the brunet, which was strange considering the wonderful hospitality he's gotten from him since arriving. Unconsciously, he began to relax into Dan's chest, his hand coming up to brush calming circles in the arm circling his waist. The black boots began to walk away, and Phil could now draw small details from his appearance.

He was wearing a long trench coat that sank down to his calves and laced combat boots that demolished any leaf that became trapped under them. A head of black hair was commented nicely by his long, black painted nails. On those fingers, Phil could see the glint of restraining rings, followed by the white mask perched on his nose.

Phil shivered, glad to be seeing the form retreat farther away. There was a chill sweeping over him the longer he looked at the man, and his stomach clenched in ugly horror. The man was wafting danger, and the fact that he was searching for Dan made Phil feel like he was going to throw up all over the grass. "What does that man want with you?" Phil whispered once he was out of sight. Dan pressed his lips together, averting his eyes. He went to stand up before Phil was pulling him back down, glaring at him. "Stop hiding from the world, Dan. I just want to make sure you don't get hurt anymore, and I got a really bad feeling from that guy."

Dan tore his wrist away from where Phil had grabbed it to pull him down. He rubbed at it like Phil had burned him. How ironic. He paused as if he was contemplating what to say, eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open. Finally, he whispered, "Stop trying to find the darkness you don't need to see." For once, his voice was void of any hostility, leaving behind a serious and almost emotional undertone. His eyes, burning of fire, were brimmed with secrets and sadness that couldn't be brought to the outside world.

Phil felt himself slowly suffocating from that look. It was strange, how he could manipulate water how he likes. He could move it, freeze it, even boil it, turn it into pretty pictures and heal himself. But right now, he felt as if he was drowning, unable to gasp for air while his entire body became surged underwater. All that he could see was that hurt, that despair, behind mahogany irises.

He didn't even try to stop him when Dan got up and left. He didn't know if he even wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5

"PJ!" Phil shouted, ignoring the row of heads that turned towards him when he belted out Dan Howell's best friend's name. He put the surprised glances that his classmates wore to the back of his mind, focusing on the task at hand.

His task? Well, he'd promised the special ability class that he would get PJ Ligouri to join in on their haunted house expedition so he would go to the pits of Hell and back until he had achieved his goal.

Thankfully, Dan was nowhere in sight, otherwise this would have been a heck of a lot more difficult (and dangerous). All that was left was PJ's venomous grimace as he turned to cringe in Phil's direction. He didn't speak, his entire demeanor closed off as if he wanted to be anywhere else than in Phil's presence.

Phil took that as a challenge, an invitation to talk, a wide grin taking over his features. Be nice no matter what. "I'm here to change your mind!"

If possible, PJ looked even more annoyed. His shoulders sunk into his body and strands of curly brunette hair fell into emerald eyes, fingers tearing at a piece of thread unravelling from his uniform. "It's not going to happen."

Phil pouted out a lip, trying to make eye contact with him despite the fact that PJ was literally trying his damnedest not to look him in the eye. "Why not?"

"It's a stupid idea and I have no interest being a part of anything to do with that level of stupidity."

"What are you so afraid of?" At the lack of response from PJ, Phil knew he had struck a cord and decided to dig a little bit deeper. He took a step closer to the brunet, making sure that all other venturing ears wouldn't be able to hear their discussion. It wasn't like he was trying to embarrass PJ, of course not, but a little bit of psychological digging could always help his argument a bit. "Is it because you don't think your power is scary? Being completely honest, any power could be frightening if you put your heart into it, so if that's the reason, don't hold yourself back."

"That's not-." PJ cut himself off at Phil's searching gaze, immediately backing down.

So that's how it is.

"I'll make you a deal. Do the haunted house with us and I'll never bother you again. If you keep refusing like this, I'll continue bothering you and I'm sure we both don't want that."

PJ let out a loud groan, digging his fingers into his eyelids. "Fine," he snarled. "I'll do your fucking haunted house, Lester. But if you ever talk to me again afterwards, I'll personally strangle you."

Phil grinned triumphantly, pumping his fists into the air. He resisted the urge to kiss PJ's cheek and instead, just to piss him off, blew a kiss towards him. "I knew I could count on you, Peej!" At the look on PJ's face, Phil decided heatedly that it was definitely past his time to leave, and turned to walk into the special ability classroom so he could gloat about how he got PJ fucking Ligouri to agree to participate.

That was, until he ran into a brick wall.

"Oi, Lester. Have you been antagonizing PJ?"

Cursing under his breath because he really did not need to be interrogated by Dan at the moment, Phil glanced up at him through his fringe. He could feel his cheeks turning a gross shade of non-translucent red under the cool gaze of Dan's brown eyes. All he could think of was how Dan looked when he was sleeping next to him, seemingly so much younger, and Phil needed to stop that right now. "Ah- no, I just had a question about the special ability class." He turned to PJ, feeling like an awkward sandwich between two of the biggest assholes in Dahlia Academy. "I'm not bothering you, right PJ?"

"Maybe a little," PJ muttered, and Phil shrunk back into his shoes at the way Dan was glaring at him.

Phil held his hands up in front of his chest, trying to convey the fact that he meant absolutely no harm. "Look, I just was trying to get him to join in on the haunted house the special ability class is doing for the festival. I thought it'd be fun if PJ could join us and he ended up agreeing anyways, so I'm really not trying to stir up any trouble."

Dan's eyes moved over to his best friend's and his gaze loosened a bit when they made eye contact. Phil briefly wondered if they were a thing before trying to slap the idea out of his mind. What was it his business, anyways? "Is that so?"

PJ nodded and looked at the floor and Phil visibly relaxed. As long as PJ said Phil wasn't bothering him, he wasn't going to get fried by Dan's flames today. (As if Dan could fry him anyways, considering the fact that Phil could come back at him with a huge blast of water, but that's besides the point).

"Whatever," Dan mumbled. His jaw was clenched to the point where Phil was rather uncertain if he was actually going to punch him or not, glancing down at the fists at Dan's sides. Yep, definitely going to punch him. "Let's leave, Peej."

"Ah, actually," Phil cringed a bit at his next words, giving the pair an apologetic expression. He considered if he should maybe join acting classes considering he wasn't the least bit sorry. And yet his voice was lilted in a way that made him scared to confront the boys, afraid to ask the next question. He definitely had to ask Mr. Parker about taking theater. "Since PJ agreed to help out with our haunted house, we need to start getting ready for it. After all, the festival is in a few days!"

If Dan wasn't going to punch him before, he definitely was now. There was heat radiating off of him in waves, to the point where Phil swore he could actually see it in the air. His skin even started prickling in a cool sweat. But Dan didn't say anything. Just clenched his jaw tighter and became a freaking living radiator.

"That reminds me, what is the dangerous class doing for the festival?" Phil asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"The dangerous ability class doesn't get to join in on school functions," PJ said quietly. For once, he didn't sound very angry. Just quiet, brooding. Even a bit melancholy.

Phil's eyes widened comically. They don't... "What do you mean?" They don't get to join in on the school functions? What the ever living hell does that have to do with anything?

"We don't get to join in, it's that simple," Dan snapped. The ends of his hair curled a bit before catching on fire, making Phil stumble back a bit in shock. Dan catching on fire was definitely not something he was used to seeing. Dan turned to PJ with another hard glare, scowling, eyebrows furrowed greatly. "Have fun with your ditzy boyfriend, Peej. Be sure not to screw him too hard."

With that, PJ's cheeks flames a burning red colour while Dan whipped around and started to stalk away, heels of his school shoes scuffling over the linoleum floor.

Phil scoffed when he was out of sight. How could Dan even talk to his best friend like that? "How do you deal with that? You shouldn't let him talk to you like that."

PJ frowned. He wrapped his arms around his body, almost like a shield from Phil's inquiring look. "He normally isn't like that," he muttered. They started walking down the hall, making their way to the designated special ability classroom. "Something seems to be bothering him lately and he won't tell me what. It's making him more aggressive than usual."

"Is it me?"

"Probably."

Phil huffed, cheeks puffing out with frustration. "I didn't even do anything to him. He has literally no reason to hate me but he does and I don't know why."

"Well, you are pretty annoying," PJ commented nonchalantly. Phil turned to glare at him but was cut off before he could reject the statement. "You seem to think that Dan wants to be saved or some stupid shit like that. He's told me about it, you know, and your persistence is only making him worse. Eventually he's going to snap and you're the one who will get the brunt force of it. So unless you back off, I hope you're prepared for that."

"I can't just let him keep going like this," Phil mumbled, to which PJ gave him a small smile. It was the nicest thing he's ever done so far and it made Phil relax slightly, feeling like he was at least doing something right.

Sadly, they came to the classroom all too soon, signaling the start of the construction plans. Louise got to work explaining what was going on while Tyler directed what everyone was going to construct.

"Haunted house rooms are going to be based off of everyone's ability. Phil, you'll probably have something to do with water, maybe having the customers have to wade through a small swamp while you control the water to make them feel like something is swimming past their feet before conjuring some sort of swamp boogeyman. And PJ, you'll have a room entirely to do with carnivorous plants since you can control plants and such."

Phil snickered at that, giggling behind his hand. He was teasing, of course, giving PJ an amused look. "Plants? Never thought Mr. Badass would have such a cute ability."

PJ only glared at him, which made him laugh more. "My ability won't be so cute when I strangle you with it." But the threat was followed by a low sound in PJ's throat, something close to a chuckle that made Phil's chest warm.

He's cracked one of the mysterious classmates, now all he needs is to get Dan to trust him. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer now.

(And if Dan was willing to sleep in the same bed with Phil, he had his hopes up high).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter but i hope you liked this anyways! Let me know your thoughts and thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Phil smirked upon hearing a low beeping noise in his ear, a result warning him of the oncoming students. He heard a series of gasps followed by a splash when the group stepped into his room; one with the tile floor filled with a foot of water where Phil would be able to scare the people without getting them too wet. 

Thankfully for the students, there was a drier right as soon as they would exit the room, made specially by the technical ability students that was able to dry something off in a minimum of three seconds. That way nobody had to have their shoes wet for the rest of the day. His own feet were definitely a bit soggy, but that didn’t really matter for him because his body was made with a considerably larger amount of water than the typical person, so his skin wasn’t wrinkled and was actually pretty much glowing with the added moisture.

Did that make him weird?

The festival had been going on for about two hours now and Phil doesn’t think he’s ever had so much fun. To be surrounded by classmates with equally as powerful and amazing abilities as he did was literally a dream come true. Not to mention the fact that his power could be frightening in the first place, which was beyond refreshing when he originally thought it was good for nothing. He loved scaring people, loved hearing the gasps and the slightly nervous giggles afterwards while they entered the next room, where Phil knew Tyler was using his glitter power to make it look like faces were appearing out of thin air. 

How could glitter be scary? Well, only Tyler would know.

The slight shuffling got louder, followed by more splashing noises as the water got a bit deeper, making it so that the group wouldn’t be able to get their feet out of the water when they walked. Phil peeked out from behind a pillar, making sure that they were exactly where he wanted before taking a deep breath. Because his body was already submerged in water, it meant he didn’t have to do anything with his hands (the concept was strange at first, but he was slowly getting used to it). 

His lips twitched into a smile as he made a large splashing noise behind them, watching as the entire group swiveled around to stare at the empty spot. There were four of them, people that Phil had never seen before which disappointed him. He assumed that Dan would come through sometime today, if only to see PJ, but he hadn’t seen him thus far. 

When the people had calmed slightly and began moving once more, Phil made the water a bit less flowy, not quite ice, but definitely something that was a bit more… slimy. He made it so the water resembled that of a snake brushing past their ankles, snickering quietly when one of the girls shrieked at the top of her lungs and jumped away, followed closely by the other girls when they each got their share. 

It was over pretty quickly after that; Phil conjured a figure to start emerging from the water, and the girls ran into the next room with similar shrieks. The sound of the blow drier alerted Phil that the scare was over and he had to repeat the entire thing in a few seconds. Once he was sure they were out of sight, he burst into a fit of giggles, stretching out his limbs. They were starting to hurt a bit from staying crouched behind the pillar and cracked enthusiastically as he moved them.

The microphone in his ear crackled to life, PJ’s voice murmuring, “We have one more scare before we are allowed to take our break. Last I heard, it was Dan coming through so if you want to go through the house I would suggest just leaving with him since you’re one of the first rooms. I’ll join you guys afterwards. Sound good?”

Phil’s stomach twisted, making him slightly nauseous. A haunted house? With Dan? But he gave his affirmative anyways. Surely Dan would have someone else with him. He wouldn’t come to this alone, right?

His question was answered a few minutes after his headset beeps and two figures walked into the room. One was clearly Dan, lanky and closed off with his hands stuffed firmly into his pockets. He didn’t look too happy upon immediately stepping into the shallow water, his lip curling in disgust. He was wearing something other than his school uniform for once (thankfully, weekends were free apparel to the students), outfit consisting of tight black skinny jeans, a white shirt, and a leather jacket. Before his feet were submerged in the water, Phil saw he was wearing a pair of spiked shoes. Typical Dan, trying to seem like the edgy, misunderstood teen. 

There was a small girl next to him, one that he recognized by the name of Michelle, who was in the somatic class and had the power of necromancy. She had ringlets of brown hair and large golden eyes, standing an entire foot shorter than Dan. She was extremely pretty in Phil’s opinion, but he was a bit unsure about her considering that she was literally the biggest Dan Howell™ fan on campus. This basically means that if anyone came in between her and Dan, or even showed a slight interest in Dan, she would jump their shit and probably tear their hair out. Thankfully, Phil hasn’t come to feel her wrath yet but he surely would if she knew how Dan had slept in his bed just the other night. 

It was an obvious fact that Dan didn’t like Michelle, so why the heck was he alone with her in a haunted house?

Phil shook his head, squinting his eyes in the slight darkness to judge what they were doing and where they currently were in his room. He saw, more than heard, Dan muttering under his breath before the words were reaching his ears the closer they got to him.

“God damn it, Phil. I swear that if your stupid water games ruin my shoes, I will personally flay you alive.” 

Phil snickered under his breath, thinking about how Dan was probably the most predictable human Phil has ever met. He always had the same threats, along with a certain hatred for Phil, and apparently a thing for fashion.

“Phil? As in Phil Lester?” Michelle asked, voice sharp. Phil grimaced and prepared himself for an insult followed by her screaming when he decided to scare them. “As if he could make anything in a haunted house scary. Isn’t he like, the biggest wimp in the school?”

Dan stayed quiet and Phil narrowed his eyes at them, pressing his lips together. He didn’t think he was a wimp. Nice? Yes. Persistent to the point of annoying? Yes. But a wimp? Hardly. He’d show them how much of a wimp he was. 

But before he could move his muscles into his next move, Dan’s hushed voice rang throughout the room. “You’d be surprised by how dangerous he could be.” The words surprised Phil to the point that he was actually pretty pissed because Dan couldn’t talk highly of him like that. His annoyance only heightened when Dan turned his head and ran his eyes over the pillar Phil was hiding behind. 

He knew Phil had heard. 

With a burst of confidence, Phil decided to have some fun and watched in amusement as a wall of ice surrounded them, trapping them in between four walls. Michelle screamed and he imagined how she was probably hanging off of Dan like a Christmas bauble. 

“What the hell?” She screeched and there was a dull noise as she supposedly banged her fists on the ice. “Dan, melt the ice! Do something!”

Phil snorted. As if Dan could do anything to distort Phil’s ability. 

“I can’t do anything against his powers, my fire doesn’t stand a chance.” Well at least he was acknowledging it. 

Michelle scoffed and Phil decided it was time to scare the piss out of her. He did the same tactic as with the last students, making it seem as if something was brushing against her leg. Except this time, it was ten times scarier because they were trapped in a cube of ice (pun intended). 

Phil relished in Michelle’s high-pitched squeal that was followed by a loud splash. He assumed she fell backwards into the water and resisted the urge to laugh at the fact that Dan hadn’t even tried to catch her. He moved onto Dan, moving the water by his ankles, but he just scoffed loudly.

“It’s just water, Michelle. He isn’t allowed to hurt us.”

Phil could feel his blood boiling and found a thick fog start to sweep into the small cube. Very slowly, he began to crack the ice, the loud shatters chilling to the bone. Michelle began to babble, words that Phil couldn’t understand through the loud noises before the ice was crashing to the ground and he conjured a figure to start raising out of the water. 

Like everyone else, Michelle screamed and grabbed Dan’s hand in her hurry to get away (a Dan that looked about ready to murder someone). 

Phil was satisfied, glad he was able to terrify Michelle to the point of running out, and he didn’t mind that Dan didn’t seem very frightened. Dan wasn’t afraid of anything, so it’s not like Phil was too wimpy to scare people or anything. Dan was just simply impossible. 

He waited for them to step into the next room before getting up and following after them. His clothes were absolutely waterlogged and there were streams of the liquid dripping from his hair (he didn’t even remember getting his hair wet, but he tried not to question it too much). He stumbled into the room after them, ignoring the glare from Michelle as Dan stared blankly at him. 

There was the noise of the drier and Phil barely realized that he wasn’t wet anymore, wiping at his face because he was suddenly too hot and he wasn’t used to his body temperature being this high. “Sorry,” he sighed once he was able to be heard. “I’m on break so PJ and I were going join up with you after you came through our rooms so we could experience the rest of the house.” He glanced over at Michelle and winced at how absolutely furious she seemed. “No one informed us that you were on a date.”

“We’re not,” Dan said flatly, at precisely the same time as Michelle said, “Well we are.”

Dan cast her a venomous look but Phil was the first to speak up before he could. “You guys can go ahead then, I’ll wait for Peej and me and him will just go through together. Didn’t mean to ruin your date.”

“Peej?” Dan echoed. He had a strange expression on his face. “Since when did you guys become so close?”

“I wouldn’t say we’re close,” Phil muttered. “He tolerates me because I’m nice and we are in the special ability class together. I’m pretty ruthless, if you remember correctly.”

Dan ruffled his fringe, ignoring the obvious distaste Michelle was showing in Phil. “You guys can come with us. Especially if it was Peej who suggested it.” Michelle’s mouth dropped open in both shock and anger but Phil cut her off before she could complain. 

“Great! Let’s go then!”

The group of three shuffled into the next room, Phil starting to cool down a bit once he uncapped his water bottle and stuck his pinky into it. All at once, his temperature neutralized and he felt a considerable amount cooler. He still found it quite amusing that Dan’s body temperature was extremely high compared to Phil’s own, to the point that he could feel the heat of him through the air. But that could also be because Phil was freakishly cold. 

The room they entered was PJ’s room and the immediate scent of flowers filled Phil’s nostrils. It was pleasant as he was always a huge fan of plants, but he wondered just how Peej was going to make this room worthy of a haunted house. The small group looked around, pausing for a moment to take in the hundreds of flowers before steeling themselves and beginning to walk through. It wasn’t long until Phil felt something curling around his ankle and he looked down to find a vine wrapped around each of their ankles, immobilizing them. 

“How can plants be scary?” Phil asked, glancing around at the flowers that suddenly seemed to be moving on their own. They were shaking, and there was a growling noise in the air. Phil had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Dan rolled his eyes at his question and he didn’t really seem disturbed at all. Bored, even. “You’d be surprised,” he muttered. “Any ability can be frightening if the person knows how to use it.”

A shuffling noise directed Phil’s attention away from Dan and towards the flowerbed next to him, eyes widening as the foliage came to life, roots climbing away from the dirt and growing in size to tower over them. They were letting out a loud hissing, forming into carnivorous plants with sharp teeth and long, constricting vines. He noticed smaller flowers, bright blue in colour, pulling their roots out of the dirt. The roots were thick, resembling a human’s body with actual faces that seemed rather angry. They were screaming as they did so, and Phil realized with a start that they were familiar. Mandrakes, his mind whispered and he wanted to snort at PJ if he wasn’t so petrified at the moment.

Michelle let out a shriek at the same time that Phil squealed, stumbling backwards. Except, he couldn’t really stumble backwards because of the vine wrapped around his leg, so he ended up falling on top of Dan who let out a loud oof when they collided with the ground. 

“Get off,” Dan snarled, pushing Phil away.

“I can’t or I would,” Phil snapped back, ignoring the way that Michelle seemed as if she was about to murder him. But just as he said that, the vines were contracting back into the foliage, releasing them. 

Immediately, Dan shoved Phil so that he wasn’t touching him, pulling himself off the ground and smoothing out his shirt. He shot Phil a glare, but continued through the room, unflinching as various plants jumped out at them. Phil envied him, envied the way he was so strong when faced with something frightening, envied how he could steel himself to the point where he was completely unaffected by anything. 

But at the same time, wouldn’t that be a bit dull? Going through life with hardly any emotions?

They eventually got to the end of the room, waiting in the hallway for PJ to join them. They were completely silent, Michelle completely ignoring him, and Dan just being a generally quiet person anyways.

Peej showed up a few minutes later, wearing a bright grin that was pretty odd on his normally expressionless face. “Well?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. “Did I scare you?” 

“Not at all.” 

PJ glared at Dan, shoving him and pouting his lip. In turn, Dan’s face morphed into a small smile. It was a bit strange as well because he wasn’t exactly grinning, per say, but his eyebrows were heavy on his face and his teeth were showing so he looked a bit angry despite the fact that he was obviously smiling. But that’s just Dan, Phil supposed. “Stop lying, I saw the look on your face!” Peej teased once he recovered from Dan’s dismissal. He turned to Phil, who got extreme satisfaction by him completely ignoring Michelle. “How about you? I had to have scared you.”

“You did! I even screamed a little!” Phil exclaimed, grinning at the happiness that spread across Peej’s face. He was extremely glad that PJ was beginning to trust him, even joking around and smiling at him. The feeling was absolutely amazing. 

“Shall we move on?” Dan’s voice was flat, the happy expression wiped completely off of his face. “If we stay here chatting, we won’t have time to look at the other festival attractions.”

Both Phil and PJ frowned at the same time but nodded nonetheless, starting their adventure through the haunted house. It was absolutely superb, Phil’s eyes wide in awe as he examined everybody’s power at their strongest, most terrifying moment. There was Louise, who had the ability of time travel and went back in time to bring small, ancient animals (virtually harmless) that looked scary enough to frighten someone. Then, there was Cat, who (wouldn’t you know), could turn into a cat. Thus being able to get a group of cats together with bared claws and teeth who would chase you out of the room.

Then there were others, a classmate who had the ability to summon ghosts (Surprisingly, the power wasn’t considered dangerous but only because the ghosts were unable to harm anybody), one who could manipulate the air into tiny tornados, and even one that was able to stop time. It was frightening when objects suddenly appeared in front of them, ending with the guy getting really close to Phil’s face while wearing a demon mask.

Phil had screamed, voice high-pitched and filled with surprise, heart pounding in his chest as he jumped back and grabbed at the nearest things to him. These things just so happened to be Dan and PJ’s hands. He nearly jumped again at the realization that both of his hands were grasping so hard onto two guys who basically hated him, but he didn’t get the chance when, in perfect sync, they entwined their fingers through Phil’s and squeezed tightly back.

Phil was definitely going to pass out if Michelle didn’t kill him first.

He tried not to let it bother him though, relishing in the fact that both boys were trying their best to comfort him. He glanced at Dan out of the corner of his eye, noticing that his face was smooth, as if he wasn’t holding Phil’s hand right now. Then he looked over to Peej, whose face was a complete mirror of Dan’s despite the fact that there was a dark blush settling over his cheeks and the tip of his nose. Phil wondered how the two could be almost exactly the same even though they were separate people.

There was a hush over the group when they emerged from the haunted house. Phil couldn’t speak because he was holding hands with two extremely attractive, overly mean boys, and he was sure Michelle was quiet because she was going to castrate him. 

Then she spoke up, hanging onto Dan’s free arm as a look of annoyance passed over his face. “Dan, let’s go look at the other attractions!” She let her gaze slide over Phil as if he wasn’t even there. “Peej, you can come as well if you’d like!”

If this was an anime, Phil could imagine the steam coming from Dan’s ears before he got a sort of smug expression on his face as he looked over. Phil made eye contact with him, shivering when the brunette slipped his fingers away from Phil’s. He was suddenly cold without the warmth absorbing into his palms. “We would love to, wouldn’t we, Phil?” Dan asked in faux delight. He was gritting his teeth.

“Um- actually-.” He was cut off by Dan’s lip twitching downward and there was considerably more heat in the air. Best not to say no when Dan looked like he was going to catch Phil on fire. “I would love to.”

PJ let go of Phil’s other hand and Michelle was currently plotting his demise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Your comments make my day (':


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan, Phil, PJ, and Michelle enjoy the festival a bit more!

They decided to visit the technical class attraction first after Phil nearly lost his shit when he saw it. His reaction caused PJ to snicker behind long fingers and Dan and Michelle to roll their eyes.

"What the actual heck?!" Phil exclaimed, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. His eyes widened to saucers and he could feel the breath knocked out of him, gaping with such shot that he's surprised he didn't actually wee himself. "How in the ever living crap did the technical class fit an entire amusement park on the academy grounds?!"

"They're the technical class, loser," Michelle scoffed. She flicked a piece of brown hair over her shoulder as she got a tube of strawberry flavoured chapstick from her purse. "They can basically do anything, even if it means fitting an amusement park within the school gates." She pursed her lips as she applied the chapstick and Phil found himself watching as she did so. He became hyperaware of how chapped his own lips were and resisted the temptation to lick them.

Right in front of them was a large amusement park, the smell of funnel cakes and candy floss overtaking his senses. The noise of screaming students filled their ears as they rode on one of the roller coasters, small enough to still fit on the academy grounds, yet still big enough to give them some sort of thrill. Phil was absolutely amazed and there was excitement filling his bones at how awesome his school was.

"We need to go on the roller coaster," he demanded much like a small child. All he needed was to stomp his foot and he would look exactly like a complaining kid. "It's something I need to do for science."

"For science," PJ snorted. "Right."

They continued on anyways, entering through the gates that read 'Holiday World' in large script. Phil held back his gasps of awe, instead keeping quiet as Dan led them through the crowds of people. There were dozens of small shops, students selling the items that they made, many items that were quite unusual to find in normal shops outside of the academy. Phil saw a person selling living dolls, ones that waved at people as they walked up and made conversation as if they had a mind of their own. According to the sign on the shop, the doll connected to the person's soul based on their personality and became their lifelong friend. Another person was selling a hair accessory that straightened your hair just by touching it to your head, and vice versa.

"These are amazing, aren't they?" Phil breathed out.

"It's nothing unusual," Dan replied flatly. "You get used to it."

Phil puffed out his cheeks, trying to hold himself back from snapping at Dan. His belly rumbled and he reminded himself that he hadn't eaten since that morning. Considering the amount of food surrounding them, he's surprised that he even lasted that long. "We should eat, I'm starved!"

"Go get something, then."

PJ glared at Dan's dismissive tone but it lacked the hardness of real anger. "Come on, Phil, I'll go with you." But he wasn't looking at him, instead staring at Dan with almost a challenging expression that made Phil's head hurt with confusion. He almost felt like a confused pokemon because of it.

Phil turned his face to watch Dan's expression, noting the way his jaw hardened and his lips pressed together in a line. He seemed as if he was clenching his teeth. "I'll go as well then, I guess."

Peej's own expression changed completely, a look of wonder coming over his teasing gaze. His mouth fell slack and he muttered something under his breath that made Dan's cheeks turn a weirdly red colour. Phil wasn't positive but it sounded somewhat like he had said, "I thought that might be the case," which didn't really make sense but he didn't question it.

His stomach growled again. "Are you guys coming or not? I'm about to eat a freaking horse."

The rest of the group agreed and they made their way over to one of the funnel cake stands, Phil fawning over the different flavours like he'd never seen them before. There was an oreo one, a reese's one, even a birthday cake one, and Phil felt like he would explode from the variety of choices. He ended up getting the oreo funnel cake, moaning into his bite with an exaggerated voice. "This is like heaven," he sighed, ignoring the looks from his companions as he ravished the entire thing.

Dan raised his eyebrow, seemingly amused. He was chewing on some fried cheese slowly, staring at Phil with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Phil asked, slightly annoyed from being stared at so intensely.

Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked suspiciously like a jelly bean. "Try this," he said coolly. Upon closer inspection, they were jelly beans, sitting bright and blue in the palm of his hand. "I assume you've never had magic beans before. You're really missing out."

Phil's eyes widened and he snatched it out of Dan's hand eagerly. "Thank you!" He chimed. He was a mixture of happy and shocked from the kindness that Dan was showing his way, popping them into his mouth without a moment of hesitation, just as Michelle started laughing hysterically and PJ shouted for him to not eat it. He opened his mouth to ask why when he realized that his mouth wouldn't open and his vocal cords wouldn't even make a sound of protest.

That mother fucker.

"Great one!" Michelle was snickering behind her hand, manicured with pink tips. "You're so funny, Dan!"

Phil glared at the brunette, listening intently as PJ started explaining that the technical class sells magic jelly beans to play pranks on people. It's basically like jelly bean roulette, each colour having a different effect. The blue ones were either raspberry flavoured or they made you unable to speak for thirty minutes. The red ones made you fall in love with the first person you saw, purple making you unable to lie, and so on. And since Phil had just eaten two of the blue jelly beans, that meant he was unable to talk for an entite hour.

Phil was going to kill Dan.

The worst thing about not being able to talk, in Phil's opinion, was when they decided to go on the roller coasters. They were fun, of course, but it didn't do anything for when Phil wanted to scream his head off. Instead, he had to think about screaming, and that definitely wasn't nearly as fun as it would have been if he was actually able to make his vocal cords work.

And Dan, the little mongrel, decided to be funny and ask what he thought of the coasters. Phil couldn't wait to give him a piece of his mind. When he could talk.

Nearly forty-five minutes had passed by the time they decided to ditch the theme park and head over to the latent ability attraction, which was basically just a bunch of stands that showed off their ability in a cool way. The somatic class apparently was putting a play on later that night of Beauty and the Beast, which Michelle was gloating about because apparently she was cast as Gaston. (Phil thought that was rather fitting to her personality).

"Hey look," Dan said suddenly, a smirk clear in his tone. Phil turned his glare back on him, not entirely over the fact that he was mute because of his trickery. "A mind reading stand. Wonder what Phil's thinking right now."

Only that I can't wait to punch you in the face, Phil thought bitterly.

"Shall we find out?" Michelle sneered, cackling at her own joke. Does that even classify as a joke? Phil was having trouble understanding what was so funny. He portrayed this by scowling at her as scary as he could possibly be at a moment like that.

PJ cut in then, giving Phil his own concerned look. "Shouldn't we stop? He's obviously not very happy." God bless Peej, Phil could kiss him right then.

And of course, they just had to have walked up to the mindreading table right then, the student giving him a once-over with a smirk as he obviously read his thoughts. "Ah," he sighed out as he gave the rest of the group a shit-eating grin. "I see that Phil here is thinking about how much he would like to kiss PJ!"

Phil clenched his jaw tight and kept his gaze glued to the floor. That was definitely out of context. Fucking mindreaders.

"And now he's cursing me in his mind for taking everything out of context. PJ is thinking about how he wouldn't mind so much if Phil kissed him, Michelle is about to punch Phil in the face, and Dan-."

"Alright," Dan cut in, giving the guy a cold stare that made him stop talking immediately. Phil could feel Dan's skin raise in temperature by a few degrees and he stared in horror as he begged in his mind for Dan not to do anything drastic. "Good to know. We'll be leaving."

The guy frowned. "Wait! Since you're here, why don't you get your fortune told? Obviously, it's a true fortune teller considering where we are." He chuckled to prove his point, waving his hands around wildly. "What do you say?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," PJ said. His cheeks were bright red and he refused to look at Phil. It's not like there was anything to be embarrassed about, they were friends and friends were able to kiss occasionally. On the cheek, at least.

Mindreader dude grinned largely, his teeth showing in all their pure white glory. "Great! Right this way, please." He led the way through a purple cloth tent, which was rather dark and hard to see inside. There was a girl sitting in the middle of the room, her fingers clasped together as she stared at the intruders. Phil shivered. It seemed as if she was staring through them.

"Welcome," she greeted, smiling gently. Her eyes were a dark golden in the low glow of the room. "I suppose you've come for a reading?"

The group nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. Well, that and the fact that Phil couldn't even speak in the first place.

"Excellent." She closed her eyes and exhaled. The air was thick, silence overtaking with just the noise of heavy breathing. Phil wondered why they were even here. "I see darkness in your futures," she stated. Her eyes opened to little slits and she pointed a lazy finger at Phil. "There will come a time where you will have to make a decision that will change your life forever. You have to choose between life or death, a life of sorrow, or a life of forgotten memories. If you choose the correct path, you will eventually find happiness once again." Her eyes slid over to PJ. "You will experience an admiration like you've never experienced before, but you will not succeed in it. But don't fret, as there is always room for improvement. I also sense that you will lose a close friend and will be ultimately alone unless you expand your circle and reach out to others."

Next was Michelle, who looked rather impatient. Phil didn't understand why she was still hanging out with them if she was so annoyed, but he figured he didn't want to ask. Maybe she was lonely. "Your power will bring both joy and despair to the lives of others. But if you focus on the despair, then you will lose the will to live. Therefore, you must befriend an enemy and focus on the happiness that your ability will ultimately bestow on others, and you will truly find your belonging in this world. I sense great change awaiting you." And finally, she rested her gaze on Dan. Her lips moved to press into a straight line, face paling. "You..." She murmured out, breathing deeply. Dan narrowed his eyes, challenging. "I also see a great change in you, a light in the midst of darkness. Hope, a new beginning." Her eyes darkened then and she looked down at her lap. Her voice was a mere whisper when she spoke again. "And then, I see nothing. Unless you stop using your ability, it will ultimately lead to your destruction. Your fate is in your own hands. I suggest you use that information wisely."

Phil glanced sharply over at Dan to find him refusing to meet anyone else's shocked gaze. "Dan," Phil choked out, barely registering the fact that he was able to speak once more. His hand reached out on it's own accord, sliding into the stiff grasp of Dan's. His skin was burning hot, a reminder that he was here, alive, amongst friends and people who truly cared about him.

"It's nothing," he said. "I'm going to be fine."

Phil frowned and squeezed his hand. "Are you sure?"

Dan didn't answer and he didn't respond to Phil's comforting squeeze. Instead, he slipped his fingers away from Phil's hold and walked outside, ignoring the rest of the group when they called for him to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is a bit late getting up, but i suppose that it's only 45 minutes late for me xD If i ever don't update on time just assume that university is kicking my butt! Thanks for reading and i love all of you so much c: don't forget to comment your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil joins the dangerous ability class and Dan is angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say that this is a pretty heavy chapter so be warned c: It's gonna get kind of angsty for a bit but no worries, just remember it's a happy ending! Thank you SOOO much for all of your support and i am so happy that everyone likes this as much as i do <3 Love you all!

“I’d like to switch to the dangerous ability class.”

Principal Glickstern’s eyebrows rose almost dramatically, but his gleaming gray eyes showed that he wasn’t nearly as surprised as he was letting on. “Is that so?”

Phil nodded, biting his lip and tearing at the skin painfully. He paid no mind to it, instead watching as the principal smirked at him. “The thing you said about Dan Howell my first week here- about him having less work to do if I joined. The work causes him pain, does it not?”

“Indeed, it does.”

Nodding, Phil pressed his lips together in a thin line, his fists clenched so hard he could feel the crescents of his nails clenching into his skin. “If it helps Dan, I’d do anything.”

This time, Principal Glickstern obviously gaped at him, an expression other than the usual cold exterior. He seemed to mull over Phil’s words for a minute, crossing his legs. “So Dan Howell does have someone who cares about him,” he commented. “Interesting.” He stood up suddenly, motioning for Phil to follow. “Come with me. I’m sure Axel would be very happy to hear he has a new… Student.”

The way he paused on the word made chills creep up Phil’s spine, but he tried to pay no mind to it. Dan has been doing considerably worse since the night he slept over, having days where he’d have to wear a restraining mask that was as black as the night sky. On those days, he barely talked, hunched over his desk as if he was in pain. On those days, not even PJ could get him to talk.

And so, Phil didn’t give a shit if Dan was pissed off. If no one else was going to do anything to help Dan, then he would gladly be the one to do it, no matter how much danger he could possibly be in.

Eventually, they emerged into a classroom that was hidden away in the basement of the school. It was nearly empty, save for a few students lounging around and a black haired man sitting in a large chair. The entire setting looked exactly like a movie.

“Axel,” Principal Glickstern greeted.

The black haired man looked up, taking Phil off guard when he noticed the white mask perched on his nose and the black fingernails that resembled those of the man whom Dan was running away from. A sly smile turned up the corner of Axel’s lips. “Ah, you must be Philip Lester,” he said smoothly. His voice caused hairs to stick up on Phil’s arms. “I’ve been expecting you.”

As if that wasn’t creepy.

Phil forced himself to smile back and held his hand out to shake. “Nice to meet you.”

Axel just clicked his tongue at his outstretched hand. “Oh, Philip. How I would love to shake your hand, but that would sadly result in your death.” He stood up and bowed a bit, which was kind of strange. “I’m Axel, the teacher of the dangerous ability class. I cannot touch people with my bare hands or it will lead to that person being poisoned and eventually dying, slowly and painfully.” He reached behind himself and grabbed an item from the desk. Slowly, and without touching Phil’s skin, he started to slide a slim silver band with a blue gem inside of it onto Phil’s finger. “An extra restraint made just for you. You’ll notice your powers soon growing after being trained by this department, and we must assure that you will not be a danger to the other students.”

“It’s just water,” Phil muttered.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the dangers of water manipulation, my dear boy. The restraint is just a precaution.”

How could Phil forget? Apparently he may take the water from someone else’s body or spear them with an icicle. He’d be surprised if that ever happened.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Principal Glickstern said, turning to leave. “Have fun, Philip.” He didn’t let the small smirk slide past him as the principal walked out of the door.

For a split second, he wondered if he was making the right decision.

“Daniel should be on his way soon so he can teach you the basics. I can assure you he probably won’t be… Thrilled to see you here.” A sickeningly sweet smile. “After all, he did try his hardest to keep his friends away from me.”

Phil has definitely made a stupid decision. He sees that now, with ice trickling down his neck and the smell of danger in the air. He should have just listened to Dan, should have stayed away from the darkness. But how could he when Dan had eyes like the moon and the face of a man who’s seen too much?

Dan would forgive him. This was something he had to do. For the man with fire in his eyes. For Dan.

He could tell Dan was angry the moment he stepped through the door. His restraining mask was finally off after days of having it on, and his eyes were no longer brown, but nearly red with rage. There was heat radiating off of him in waves, hot enough to make sweat pool on Phil’s forehead and make his hair curl. He was surprised Dan hadn’t spontaneously combusted.

“You,” Dan spat. Phil flinched at his tone and looked down at Dan’s clenched fists. He was shaking and Phil felt ashamed. “You promised.”

“I didn’t promise anything?” Phil squeaked.

“I’m not talking to you,” Dan snapped, stalking over to where Phil and Axel stood. He shoved Axel, making the older man stumble backwards. “You promised, Axel!” He yelled. There were flames coming from his fingertips that rippled and burned bright. Phil has never been so afraid in his life. “I told you not to recruit any of my friends, and you made me a promise that you wouldn’t as long as I took care of their work. Why now?! After I tried so hard to keep Phil away from here?! The guy couldn’t hurt a god damn bug and you’re trying to train him into being a ruthless killer?! How dare you!” He took another shove at the man, who only laughed humorlessly at Dan’s attempts. Phil was frozen, bile rising in his throat.

Ruthless killer.

“He came to me on his own, Daniel.” Axel spoke calmly, that same smirk on his face despite the fact that Dan was literally on fire in front of him. “Said he wanted to help you! Isn’t that sweet? Besides, you can barely keep up with your own work with how sickly you’ve been. What makes you think you can take on two times the amount of your normal?”

Dan let out a low growl and a flash of fire erupted from his skin, only to hiss out with a groan of pain. He sank to the floor, holding his head with both hands. His hands were trembling, the fire completely out. “You… Bastard.” He snarled out through broken gasps.

Phil vaguely remembered screaming out Dan’s name before he was kneeling on the floor next to him, trying to get him in a standing position so that he would be able to escort him from the room. “No worries, it’s just his restraints. He used too much power at once so they went off. Good thing, too, else we would both be dead.”

Phil glared at Axel with as much hatred as he could muster. “Go to hell,” he snarled, hoisting Dan onto his back. He barely spared a glance back as he walked out of the door, not even when he heard the humorless chuckles coming from Axel’s lips. “Fucking bastard,” he muttered.

“Put me down,” Dan huffed in his ear. He could feel the heat radiating from his body, like Dan was a walking radiator. “I never said you could touch me.”

“But you’re hurt-.”

“Put me down.”

It was Phil’s turn to huff in reply, letting Dan get off of his back with ease once they reached an empty hallway. Without the brunet hanging off of him, he felt as if he was suddenly without a warm blanket, lacking security and seriously cold. He turned to face Dan but decided not to meet his eyes, studying the ground instead. “I’m sorry if I made you angry-.”

“Not angry. I’m fucking pissed.”

“Okay, I’m sorry I pissed you off. Maybe I should have talked to you about it before I went out and joined the dangerous ability class. But I can’t just let you do this on your own, Dan! You’re in pain, you look as if you’re about to pass out at any minute!”

Finally, he met Dan’s gaze, only stopping himself when he saw the fiery irises, stomach sinking into the ground. It was then that he knew Dan wouldn’t be so forgiving this time. Maybe Phil would be better just letting Dan burn him than whatever fate this was. “Do you think I actually give a shit about that?” Dan’s voice was calm when he talked, but there was poison seething from his words, forming on his lips. “I would rather go on a hundred missions and have to deal with this stupid pain than to have you or anybody else join the dangerous ability class. I told you to stay away from me, Phil. The only thing I’m going to bring to your life is darkness and pain, when you deserve- anything but that, really.” He looked down at his hands, holding them out in front of him with a look of utter disgust. “I can handle it. But I swear to God, I won’t drag you down with me.”

Phil could taste the blood on his tongue from where he was biting his cheek. His heart felt heavy, eyes stained with the image of Dan looking at his hands with an expression like that. An expression as if he was disgusted with the person he came to be. “I can do it, Dan! You don’t have to be alone anymore, and you don’t have to do so many missions anymore! If you keep going like this, you’re going to die!”

In a sudden movement, Dan was slamming his fist into the wall beside him, his expression dark and unchanging as a hole broke through the plaster. “Don’t you get it, Phil?!” He screamed. All sort of past calmness dissolved into anger. “I’m already dying! There’s no point in trying to save me or whatever the fuck you’re attempting, because my power is literally sucking the life out of me as we speak! I hate it!” He slammed his fist into the wall again, making an even larger hole, and Phil was uncertain if he saw the glimmer of tears on his face, or if that was just a reflection. “Everyone always talks about how this stupid gift is ‘such a blessing’. But me? No, no. My ability just so happens to be draining my lifespan every time I use it. This power? It’s a fucking curse. So stop trying to save me if it’s already too late.” Dan’s voice dropped to a whisper just as he sank to the ground, burying his face in his knees. “Just leave me alone.”

Phil couldn’t breathe. He was pretty sure there was wetness on his face from sympathetically crying and his chest felt constricted when he looked down at Dan. He seemed so frail, so small, that he was the exact opposite of what he always made himself out to be.

Yet Phil wasn’t overjoyed by this experience. He always wanted to break down Dan’s walls, to see the exterior underneath, but this- He never wanted to see Dan at his breaking point. And the fact that Phil had caused this made him feel like the biggest piece of shit on the planet.

He ended up sitting on the floor next to Dan, in the exact same position with his knees to his chest. Dan barely glanced up, not even when Phil pressed himself into his side, Dan’s familiar warmth radiating through the fabric of his shirt. “I can’t just leave you be, Dan,” he said quietly. He closed his eyes, trying to formulate what he was thinking into words. It was harder than he originally thought. “You’re so caught up in trying to save everybody that you haven’t even considered saving yourself. You make yourself out to be this huge asshole who doesn’t care about anyone when, in reality, you just want to keep your friends away from danger. I really like that about you. But even you have to look out for yourself once in awhile, death sentence or not.”

“They were right, you know.”

Phil gave Dan a puzzled glance. “Who?”

“Our classmates.” He took a deep breath, his palms pressing flat against his cheeks. “I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster.”

“I am.” It may have been Phil’s imagination, but he could have sworn he felt Dan shift a bit closer to him. As if he was afraid Phil would disappear. “Haven’t you heard? I burnt down my entire town.”

Phil’s stomach churned a bit at the admittance. Not because he was disgusted with what Dan had done, but because he couldn’t even imagine having to live with the fact that he burnt down his town. At least with his power, the only harmful thing he could do was conjure a flood, but even that was rather draining and he wasn’t able to control that much liquid at once. “That wasn’t your fault, Dan.”

“My family was in there. No one even told me if they were okay before I got shipped here. They could be dead and it’s all my fault.”

Letting out a sigh, Phil allowed himself to rest his head onto Dan’s throwing out all of their past conflicts to just comfort him. They were basically cuddling anyways, so the movement didn’t really change their position all too much. “You didn’t know how to control your powers. You’re better at it now, one of the best I’ve ever seen! Your family is probably fine and I’m sure you will get to see them again one day.”

Dan shifted, slotting his head into the dip of Phil’s neck. He was beyond shocked that Dan was showing this much affection towards him, but he supposed that after a while of putting up a cold front, it’d have to all come crashing down eventually. “You’re too nice for your own damn good.”

Phil chuckled. “Is that a bad thing?” He decided to reach for his bottle of water, ignoring Dan’s confused noise. He dipped two fingers into the liquid before closing his eyes and focusing all of his energy onto his hands and what he wanted the water to do. Slowly, he pulled his fingers out of the bottle, feeling the water follow gracefully until it was floating in mid-air, kind of like some Avatar: The Last Airbender shit.

“What are you doing, Phil?” Dan’s voice was a whisper in his ear, somewhat shaky, uncertain.

“Calming you down,” Phil replied simply. In all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do yet. But he started off by twirling his finger, forcing the water to form into a funnel shape, a small water spout in the air. “What’s your favourite animal?”

“A dog, I guess?”

Phil hummed, his lips parted slightly. His eyes were still closed and there was an image forming in his mind of a cute silhouette of a dog. He traced his finger into the shape of it, knowing that the liquid would follow his movements. When he was finished and heard a small gasp beside him, he opened his eyes to a perfectly replicated water-dog. “It’s a new breed of dog! The Water-Poo!”

Dan laughed, quiet and almost embarrassed. “That was terrible.”

Lips turning up, he dragged his hand through the image to produce an entirely new one, water droplets coming together to form a flower. He took it in his hand (well, more like 'held’ the stem between two fingers while focusing his entire strength into keeping it upright) and presented it to Dan, wishing he could see what his expression was when Dan’s head was still tucked under his. “For you, m'lady.”

“Shut up!” Dan’s laugh was more like a giggle now, which was quite weird for Phil to even think about when a sound that adorable was being emitted from the normally-scowling boy. Dan raised a hand and swiped it through the flower, both watching as it fell apart and rose to the ceiling in a curtain of steam. Dan sighed and Phil nudged him.

“It’s still water, isn’t it?” Phil mused. To show his point, he flicked his fingers at the steam cloud and snickered as small raindrops began to fall onto the floor in front of them. “Water is water, and Dan is still Dan. No matter how much shit you’ve been through.”

The brunette snorted and lifted his head, turning to Phil with a half smirk on his face. “That’s the last time I ask for your advice, H2O Boy.” He stood up suddenly, stretching his arms above his head. Phil heard a loud pop as his joints cracked and grimaced at the noise. “I suppose I have to let you help me out, considering you’re so stubborn and all. Not to mention the fact Persona’s already fucking branded you,” a distasteful glare at the new restraint put on Phil, “But in return, I expect major plotting to shut the dangerous ability class down. And I also expect you to at least try not to kill anyone.”

Phil gaped at him as he began to walk away, not expecting that in the slightest. Away went the fragile boy who set his town on fire, replaced by a snarky Dan who wasn’t exactly friendly, but also wasn’t hostile. “Um-?”

Dan’s smirk grew at his stutters. “Bye, Phil.” And then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Don't forget to let me know what you think! (:


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil learns how to make an ability stone and the winter dance is in two weeks.

The classroom was weirdly quiet, everyone tuning in as Mr. Parker talked about how to control their powers to the best of their ability. Either the class was actually interested in the topic, or they were really tired after a weekend of sleeping in and playing video games. Phil was going to assume the latter.

Dan was sitting beside him, his legs up on the desk and a book resting over his face, much like the very first day Phil had ever met him. He frowned at the brunette, slightly annoyed that they haven't talked since Dan basically cried on his shoulder.

That was nearly two weeks ago.

Every time Phil tried, Dan would simply ignore him, staring ahead as if Phil wasn't even there. If Phil stood in front of him, Dan would simply stare through him rather than at him. It was annoying, and rather hurtful if he's being honest, and it was times like these that he wished he could scream at Dan and tell him he can't treat people like this if he wants to show he cares for them.

But of course, he doesn't. His mum taught him better than that, sadly.

"Now," Mr. Parker began, pausing to look over the class. His gaze lingered over Dan before darting away to another innocent student. "Many of you have heard about ability stones, I assume. So I figured we would learn how to make them today."

The class perked up, everyone suddenly becoming two inches taller in their seats. Dan didn't move, didn't even flinch. He was probably asleep.

"When making an ability stone, you have to make sure that you are thinking of happy things, or are in a positive mindset. If you aren't, it simply won't work. Put yourself in your happy place where you can't focus on anything else. Next, you want to clasp your hands. Focus on your powers and that happy feeling in your stomach. You want to envision your powers being a solid form, something that you can hold and feel in your hands. Eventually, you'll begin feeling an intense heat in your palms and you will know you're doing it right. No magic words, or abracadabra necessary!" Mr. Parker glanced around the room once more, his smile bright. "Let's try it ourselves, shouldn't we?"

Phil let out a short sigh, giving Dan one last grimace at how oblivious he was. But obviously he wouldn't be able to make an ability stone if he had those negative thoughts, so he closed his eyes, clasped his hands, and began to think of happy things.

He thought about his mum, with her pretty blue eyes and blonde hair, reading him bedtime stories when he was a child. Their family vacation to Florida where Phil had flaunted the Sand Dollar he'd found, only to be tackled into the water by his brother, causing him to lose it. He thought about his friends back home, going to see the new Star Wars and coming up with obscure stories about how Finn and Poe were completely and utterly in love. His thoughts then went to Dan, with his head laying on his shoulder, giggling at the stupid water games Phil was playing. He focused on the water in his memory, feeling it flow down his arms and into the dip of his palms. He imagined it hardening, becoming ice, a physical object able to be held.

His hands began to warm, taking him off guard with the intensity of the heat. It was almost as if he had stuck his hands into a fireplace, nearly pulling away from his position to see if Dan was playing games with him, before he remembered what Mr. Parker had said about the intense heat that goes along with this process. Slowly, it began to disperse and Phil finally allowed his eyes to open, along with his palms.

The first thing his eyes processed was a beautiful deep blue colour, as if it had the deep sea and a million constellations thrown all together to make a single hue. It was about the size of a small strawberry, round and smooth, swirled with blues and blacks and silvers. Phil forgot to breathe for a moment in his absolute shock, rolling the stone between his fingers as if to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't.

The second thing Phil happened to process when he turned his face a bit was Dan. The book had fallen from his face to settle on his lap, revealing bright brown eyes that were staring at him with a look of indifference. Like they were strangers. The thought hurt Phil, but he refused to admit that. "Surprised you were actually able to make one that big," Dan scoffed, his first words to Phil since the hallway incident. "Especially since it's you and you typically mess things up a bit."

Phil frowned. "What's your problem?" He muttered.

"My problem is you," Dan sneered. There was something in his face that disagreed though, a slight expression of guilt before it moulded into his usual cold grimace.

Phil sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, trying his damnedest not to lash out at the brunette. With his exhale, he let his agitation flow out of his lungs, disappearing into the air with the replacement of good thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked Dan in the face. "Here," he said. He took Dan's left hand in his and smoothed it out so his palm was flat. With that, he placed his ability stone in Dan's palms and closed his long fingers around it. "Maybe you can have my stone since you didn't make one. I heard that rubbing smooth stones can make your stress go away as well, which is pretty useful."

He ignored Dan's small scowl as well as the small gasp from Michelle. If anyone even showed an interest in Dan, her panties would get in a bunch and Phil was already way too tired of that happening. "Can't you see he doesn't want it, Phil?" She sneered. She held up her own (extremely small) violet stone. "He'd rather have mine, isn't that right, Dan?"

If it was even possible, Dan's scowl grew as he looked over her. His hand gripped tight onto Phil's stone to the point where his knuckles began turning white. "Actually," he said lowly. "I think I'll keep it."

Dan's eyes flicked over to Phil's as Michelle scoffed, crinkling her nose as if she was smelling something disgusting. "Well, at least Dan didn't give you one back, Phil. Otherwise, that's basically a proposal."

Phil's eyes widened, at the same time that Dan stiffened slightly. He watched as a slight blush came over Dan's cheekbones, and something clicked, just as Dan coughed and stood, shoving the stone into his pocket.

"Dan-," he started, reaching out to clasp Dan's wrist. The brunet yanked away from him, giving him a glare equivalent to one of frosted glass.

"Don't touch me," he huffed. At Phil's agape expression, he visibly softened. "I'll see you later." He stepped out of the classroom then, without the teacher even sparing a glance toward him. Phil wondered when Dan became so good at disappearing during important moments, just like he wondered if Dan really was the person who gave him the red stone.

He also wondered why Dan was like fire one minute and ice the next. 

Phil's head was spinning and his head was hurting slightly. Dan gave him the ability stone, there was no doubt about it. Not after that expression, at least. He seemed scared, nervous, as if Phil had found him out and would hate him. As if Phil could even hate Dan. He tried to shake the feeling away, Chris having asked him if he was doing okay. 

The class went quiet as Mr. Parker continued talking, completely disregarding Dan's outburst and continuing on with class as if nothing happened. They were obviously used to Dan's outburst and Phil couldn't help but feel a bit sad about that fact. 

PJ moved a bit closer to him, sitting where Dan was only a few minutes ago. He was suddenly so close that Phil could feel their arms brushing together. He shivered and tried to focus on the stone that PJ was holding in front of his face. It was a bright emerald colour, swirled with a darker green that made Phil's stone put to shame. "I always enjoy seeing everybody's stone," PJ commented, smiling at him. He took a deep breath, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "Did you know that there's a winter dance coming up?" He asked quietly.

Phil shook his head, eyes widening. "A winter dance?" He echoed, excitement running through his bones. How hadn't he heard about this? Dahlia Academy literally has so many fun events and he was going to enjoy it so much. "That sounds so fun!"

"It's usually a huge hit. I think this year's theme is a masquerade dance, which will be interesting." PJ pursed his lips, seemingly lost in thought. Then his eyes brightened as if he had a brilliant idea. "Hey! Did you maybe want to go with me?"

Phil froze, his cheeks heating up to an uncomfortable temperature. Peej wanted to go to a dance with him? Then he relaxed. They were friends, and strictly just that. Just because Peej asked him to go with him doesn't mean he meant it as a date. They were just going as friends. "Yeah, that sounds like it could be fun!" Phil replied, grinning. 

PJ mimicked his expression, showing his teeth and ducking his head down. "Great, the dance is in two weeks. We can go to the shopping centre later to look for some outfits to wear." He stood up as Mr. Parker released them, giving Phil one more smile before turning away. "See you later, Phil!"

He was beyond excited to be going to the winter dance, but he couldn't help but wonder if Dan was going to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So just a heads up, I may or may not be able to update next week. I'll definitely try to but it's my last two weeks of uni so i am jam-packed with a bunch of essays and projects and tests :c So hopefully I can get the chapter up next week, but if not then hopefully I will be able to very soon! Thanks for reading ily all!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and PJ go to the winter dance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! I ended up being able to update! I totally procrastinated on all of my other homework for this but i think this is one of my favorite chapters so far so i hope you like it as much as i do!

Two weeks passed before Phil could even blink. Dahlia Academy was filled with a certain thrill that filled the dining halls and classrooms like fast-growing sparks. The dance was being held on Friday night after classes, when the sun was lowering on the horizon and the moon was beginning to show.

Apparently the formal was much more like a high school prom, rather than just a casual dance. The boys got to wear button-up shirts, ties, and black pants, while the girls wore pretty dresses that showed off their toned legs and body shape. To top it off, each person was wearing a mask that somewhat covered their identities.

Phil was personally wearing a light blue button up that made his eyes seem brighter than they actually were, along with a black bowtie, and black pants that were tighter than they probably should be. His mask was white, rather plain, but had little pearls and flower designs around the edges.

He felt confident, nearly vibrating with the thrill of going to his first dance at Dahlia Academy. He decided to leave his water bottle behind today, instead replacing it with the ability stone that he kept inside his pocket. He rubbed it when he was nervous, like he was now, and wondered why Dan had even given it to him in the first place if he didn't like him.

A knock on his door brought him out of his state of confusion, leading his attention away from the stone in his pocket and towards where his door was opening, revealing Peej. At the sight of him, Phil's jaw almost dropped. He looked absolutely stunning, the forest green dress shirt bringing out the emerald in his eyes that was visible through his own white mask. The white mask was decorated with thin black swirls that resembled an ivy plant, and he was wearing a black bowtie identical to Phil's own.

"You look amazing," they both said at the same time, laughing when they'd realized what had happened.

Phil smiled at his friend as PJ held out his arm, allowing Phil to loop his hand around his forearm. He felt as if they were heading to a fancy ball instead of a school dance. They made their way through the halls, arm-in-arm, ignoring Chris as he made wolf whistles their way.

Obviously, Chris didn't know anything. They were just friends, nothing more.

When the reached the dance hall, Phil had to stop and stare in complete and utter awe. There was snow falling from the ceiling despite the fact that there were no machines to generate it or a drop of temperature, melting a few inches before it reached the floor. If Phil had to guess, he would say it was a contraction made from the technical class, or someone with a snow ability. In the middle of the room was a giant christmas tree, one way bigger than Phil had ever seen. There were presents - actual presents - hanging off the branches, and students were climbing the tree to sit on the branches, legs dangling off as they chattered to their friends.

Phil glanced around, noting the snowflake ice sculpture by the side of the room that had cans of soda cooling off under it. There were also little snacks in a holiday theme on the same table, along with a menorah, two of the candles lit, the one in the middle, and one all the way to the right.

Ah, Phil remembers, it's the first day of hanukkah. He was glad that the academy was inclusive towards different religions, the fact making him smile a bit.

There were other winter-y decorations floating around as well - a wreathe here, the star of David there - but it was all too much to take in and PJ was pulling him into the hall by the arm, looking back at him with a fond smile. "Amazing, isn't it?" He asked. There was music in the background, but Phil was too distracted to notice what was playing. "They go all out like this every year and the newcomers are always pleasantly surprised."

Phil nodded, grinning at the brunette. "It's beautiful," he breathed, accepting Peej's arm as he held it out to him. He led Phil to the snack table, where Phil stared in complete awe at the little finger foods. One with three berries - two raspberries and a blackberry - on top caught his attention, snatching it up and unwrapping it. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a layer of pastry on the bottom with a thin line of white and milk chocolate, little swirls of raspberry in the middle.

"This is delicious," he groaned when he took a bite. He hummed aloud, probably exasperating his reaction, but it was just so good that he could barely contain it, rolling his eyes.

"Now I can tell everyone that I've seen your orgasm face," PJ snickered, a gleam in his eyes.

Phil glared at him, grabbing one of the pastries and shoving it into PJ's mouth. "Just shut up and eat, loser," he whined.

Peej snickered but didn't say anything else, giving into Phil's demands and shoving it into his mouth. He wasn't quite as vocal as Phil was, but he did admit that it was very good. Afterwards, he took Phil's hand and led him to the dance floor.

"I literally can't dance," Phil admitted nervously. His eyes glanced around wildly, looking for a place to escape to no avail. PJ's arms wrapped around his waist, holding him in place.

"Neither can I," Peej said nonchalantly. He started to sway back and forth, Phil finally allowing himself to wrap his arms around Peej's neck. The position was rather awkward, especially considering that they were just friends, but Phil tried to keep his distance so that it wasn't as compromising as it could have been. "You nervous?"

Phil gave PJ a strange glance. "No?"

"You're shaking."

And he was, his fingers trembling over the nape of PJ's neck, most likely tickling the little hairs that were present there. He vaguely wondered why he was trembling, why his body was behaving that way, but he decided to blame it on the sugar he just consumed instead. "I'm not nervous," Phil muttered. "It must just be the sugar."

"Right." Peej gave him a long, smug look but didn't pressure him anymore. They started to sway to the music and Phil did his best not to look him in the eye as they did so. The situation was a bit too awkward for Phil, he liked PJ a lot, but the gesture was a bit too romantic than what 'just friends' usually did.

Besides, being this close to PJ wasn't doing anything good for Phil's nerves. Whereas Phil didn't feel anything towards PJ other than friendship, he couldn't help but wonder if Peej thought there was more going on between them then there actually was. The festival came into Phil's mind, where the mindreader had said that PJ wouldn't mind if they had kissed. Was that because... PJ had feelings for him?

Phil was suddenly uncomfortable, his face turning red and his heart pounding unpleasantly in his chest. He didn't feel the same way. Peej was a good friend and he didn't feel the same way and, oh god, was he leading him on?

"Phil," PJ breathed. His voice was quiet, soft. Phil wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep and forget about this entire stupid dance.

He brought his eyes to meet Peej's, widening in panic when he noticed that they were much closer than he remembered only a few moments ago. He's not going to kiss me, I did nothing to make him think I wanted to kiss him, I'll be okay, we are just fr-.

His panicked thoughts were interrupted by PJ's lips pressing into his own and his eyes widened with a noise that sounded like a muffled, "Mmph!"

PJ's lips were warm and soft but they didn't taste like home. In fact, they didn't taste like anything at all besides the lasting flavour of the raspberry cakes from earlier. The kiss only lasted for a millisecond before Phil was pushing him away, staring at their shining shoes. This way, he wouldn't have to see the sad expression that was undoubtedly present on PJ's face.

"I'm sorry, Peej," Phil whispered. His voice was trembling, just like his hands. "I don't really feel the same way."

Fingers under Phil's chin brought his gaze up to meet PJ's, and he was surprised to note that his friend was smiling. There was a sad tinge to his green gaze, but he didn't seem all too upset, almost as if he was expecting it. "Don't feel bad," Peej murmured softly. He dropped his fingers from Phil's face, licking his lips. "After the fortune teller, I figured that it wouldn't work out. I'm not mad at you because you don't feel the same way, and I'd still like to be friends if that's alright with you."

A grin stretched over Phil's face, relief making his shoulders sag where he wasn't aware that they were holding tension. "Of course we can still be friends."

PJ mimicked his expression, opening his mouth to say something when he looked behind Phil and he froze. His eyes widened. Phil turned to glance at what was behind him when Chris suddenly appeared, gripping Peej's elbow with a scarily wide smile on his face. "Chris, what-?!" PJ whined. He didn't get to finish his sentence, though, being roughly dragged away while Phil just stared after them in confusion and shock.

"Um, what the hell?" He muttered to himself, standing in the middle of the dance floor by himself. His mind was racing, too many situations happening all at once to the point where he was having trouble processing any of the information. He felt as if he was slapped in the face by life.

He blinked, glancing around once more and pausing when he saw Dan walking towards him. Although he was wearing a black mask, it was fairly obvious that it was him from the brown fringe and how much taller he was than anybody else, the restraints on his ears glittering with the bright lights in the room. His entire apparel was black, from his pants, to his shirt, to his tie. He looked like the walking Grim Reaper in a completely elegant way. Phil was frozen in place, and if he felt brain dead before, he definitely was looking death right in the face now.

"Dan?" He asked unsurely once the brunette got to hearing distance.

They never really talked anymore, not since the day in the hallway after Phil had comforted him. Of course, they saw each other in the dangerous ability class, but Dan was always sent away to do something else while Phil was taught how to use his water manipulation to its full extent. And now, Dan was walking towards him with his mouth set in a firm line and the familiar heat radiating off of his body in waves.

He stopped in front of Phil and stared down at him, his eyes narrowing through his mask. Phil didn't know what he did, but Dan obviously wasn't happy. "Dance with me," Dan ordered, and Phil was too taken aback to reject.

Despite how angry Dan obviously was (for some unknown reason), his hands were soft against Phil's waist, holding him like he was a fragile doll made of porcelain. He was taller than Phil by only an inch, making it rather easy for Phil to wrap his arms around Dan's neck, his skin prickling at the warmth of his skin where they brushed. Phil was usually mindful of where they were touching ever since Dan told him not to touch him, but now that they were actually dancing together, Phil allowed himself to relish in the feeling and amazement of how their skin temperatures were so different from one another, complete opposites.

"I swear to god," Dan started, beckoning Phil out of his thoughts to stare at him in alarm, "that if you hurt PJ, I will burn you straight into the ground."

"Dan, that's not-?"

Dan refused to listen, cutting him off with a glare and a light squeeze on his love-handles. "You obviously make Peej happy, so if you want to date him then I'm granting you permission. But Peej is the most important person in my life so if you cheat on him or break his heart or whatever pretty boys like you do, then I will find you and I will make sure you learn your lesson."

Phil gaped at him, his throat closing with surprise. Dan seemed cool and collected, but there was a guarded glint behind his eyes that resembled the same nonliteral mask that he wore when Phil first entered the academy. "Dan, I don't like Peej like that," Phil responded quietly. Dan's eyebrows twitched involuntarily and the mask slid down on his face a little bit. "It was all a misunderstanding. He kissed me, and I pushed him away because I didn't want to lead him on and make him think I liked him when I only see him as a friend. PJ and I are fine, we're still friends, but that's all we're ever going to be."

Dan seemed to deflate, his lips releasing from the tight line and his shoulders relaxing. His hands came to rest on the small of Phil's back as if he didn't even realize what was happening. Now he just looked tired, worn out, and Phil couldn't help but notice when his skin temperature went down a few degrees. "You pushed him away," he echoed, sounding far away.

Phil didn't get a chance to answer (that seemed to be happening a lot lately) when he felt a pressure on his back, bumping him closer to Dan. "Sorry, Phil!" Chris' voice called, strangely jovial, but Phil could barely hear it because his head had been crammed into the crevice of Dan's chin and shoulder and his lips were currently pressed to the skin of Dan's neck.

Dan let out a surprised noise that could only be compared to a squeak, and Phil felt slightly annoyed that he had his lips pressed to two different people's skin in the course of twenty minutes. He backed away immediately, apologizing profusely while Dan covered the area of contamination with his hand. Dan was glaring, as always, but his cheeks were the colour of ripened tomatoes and his hair was curling from the heat that his body was producing.

"I didn't mean to!" Phil whined while Dan continued to stare him down.

He seemed to gain back some composure then, blinking hard, jaw tightening. He took a few steps away from Phil, distancing them, hand still pressed against his neck, and Phil had a sinking feeling that Dan was disgusted by what had just happened. "I gotta go," Dan muttered darkly.

He didn't look at Phil against as he turned and walked away, and Phil was left in the middle of the dance floor for the second time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think and how you liked it <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan teaches Phil what the dangerous ability class is all about

Axel smiled sweetly at Phil as he walked into the dangerous ability classroom, his eyes masked by the usual porcelain. “Philip,” he nearly sang out, “come to train, at last! After learning about your ability and how to control it better these past few weeks, I’d figured I may as well begin to train you. And what better way to train you than to get our little Daniel to do it?” Phil didn’t like the darkness on his face or how Dan stiffened beside him. “You know what to do, Dan.”

Dan didn’t say anything, instead nodding and heading out of the door, motioning for Phil to follow. He didn’t meet Phil’s eyes, refused to even look at him. It made the nerves in Phil’s chest tighten until it was hard to breathe.

“You okay?” He asked softly. He wanted to reach out and touch Dan, brush his fingers over the small of his back in a sort of comfort, but he refrained. If Dan didn’t want to be touched, he wouldn’t force it on him.

“Of course I’m not,” Dan finally muttered after a few moments of silence. He was breathing heavily, slipping his black restraining mask on then turning to Phil and handing him a similar light blue coloured one. “I’ll never forgive myself for allowing you to do this.”

“Why?”

“You’ll find out.”

Later, Phil would look back on the moment and press his lips together, knowing he should have listened to Dan and never gotten involved. But now, he followed in a string of confusion as they walked through the courtyard of the school, the large metallic fence standing greatly before them. Phil heard rumors that they were electric, shocking anyone who even attempted to climb out of the school.

Dan wasn’t planning that, was he?

Just as Phil was beginning to panic, they came to the gate. Dan pressed a few buttons when they began to whir open, leaving Phil an even more confused mess. Students weren’t allowed to leave the school. It was against the law for them to leave the school. So how the fuck were they leaving the school?

“Dan?” Phil squeaked in question. His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest and he couldn’t shake the awful feeling that he was about to do something terrible. At Dan’s glance, he quieted, pushing aside his anxiety to follow Dan out of the gates, out of the school.

They walked for a long time, the sky beginning to darken overhead until they were shrouded by shadows. Strangely, there were no people on the sidewalk despite the fact that they were in the middle of the city. When he asked Dan, he told him that Axel had someone put some sort of spell on them where no one was able to see them and they weren’t able to see anyone either unless they were part of the mission.

Makes them less likely to get distracted, he states.

Finally, they came to a building. It was average, with plain brick and small windows. Obviously it was someone’s home, with darkened windows and a cute little minivan sitting out front. Phil cast Dan another concerned look, which he ignored pointedly. Phil felt like he was going to throw up, and it only intensified when Dan walked to the back door, lifting a hand up with about as much emotion as a tree. Almost immediately, there was a loud pop, as if there was a small explosion, and he swung the door open.

“Dan we shouldn’t be-.”

“Will you please shut up for one second,” he muttered lowly. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Phil didn’t have an answer to that, watching with a lump in his throat as Dan continued into the house. He watched as he turned a knob on the fireplace, the sickening sound of gas being released into the air. Dan took a deep breath, sounding pained, and the house was suddenly in flames.

“What-?!” Phil started, drawing his bottle of water out of the small satchel he was carrying. He didn’t finish his sentence when Dan threw himself at Phil, knocking the bottle out of his hands before Phil was able to dip his fingers into it. Phil was thrashing as Dan began to drag him away, almost as if he weighed absolutely nothing. He didn’t realize until ten minutes later, when they stopped walking, that he was crying and Dan was whispering comforts into the air.

They had stopped under a tree, where Dan allowed them to sit down at last. He was basically cradling Phil in his chest, rocking back and forth gently as if he was rocking a baby to sleep. His hand was tangled in Phil’s hair, brushing through it with long fingers in a soothing manner. “I’m sorry,” Dan whispered. “I didn’t want anyone to get involved with this, especially you. The dangerous ability class is a screwed up place and I’ve wanted for so long to take the academy down for throwing innocent children into these scary situations. But I can’t because I’m not strong enough, no matter how much I want to be. I’m so, so sorry, Phil.”

Phil was full out sobbing, his chest racking with large gasps. He was gripping onto Dan’s jumper with tightened fists and burying his face into Dan’s neck. Dan was warm and the words in his ears were comforting, but he could feel a turmoil in his stomach that refused to go away. He hurt for Dan, for the people who just woke up to flames and smoke, for the other children in the dangerous ability class who had to go through this monstrosity. Even his powers wouldn’t be able to heal this pain.

He barely registered Dan letting out a sudden gasp, or the water that was suddenly propelling onto his skin. When he looked up, he noticed that rainclouds had formed where they weren’t before, and water was falling from the sky. He wanted to laugh, except for the fact that this wasn’t the least bit humorous. Because somehow, without even meaning to, he made it start to rain.

He felt nauseous.

“I c-can’t imagine y-you having to go th-through that alone,” Phil stuttered out when he was able to formulate words at last. He lifted his head away from Dan’s neck, trying not to pay attention to the fact that he was basically straddling him. Dan was the definition of warm; even in the pouring rain he was resonating a certain heat that nobody else was capable of. “I’ve never wanted to destroy anything, but I really want to take all of my anger out on the academy for using you like you’re just a useless killing machine! You’re more than that, you’re an actual person!”

Dan’s eyes were melted chocolate drizzled on delicate strawberries, no longer holding the coldness that Phil was so accustomed to. It reminded Phil of the time in the hallway, where Dan was able to let out all of his frustrations and break down for once. His hands were still wrapped around Phil’s waist, rubbing circles in the skin that showed where his shirt rode up. It was an intimate display of affection that made Phil shiver. “I know,” Dan whispered. “Thank you. But I don’t think there’s anything I can do about this now. I’m dangerous so they use me as their own weapon. I’m alright with it, I suppose. I won’t have to put up with it much longer.” He smiled sadly and raised one of his hands to press down on his chest, where his heart was. “Maybe once this is over, I can finally be happy.”

Phil’s lips quivered again, threatening to spill more tears over his cheeks. “Don’t talk like that. We can fix this, Dan. Your classmates are your family. If we ask for help, they’ll have your back and we can take down the academy for good! And you won’t- and you won’t-,” he started to cry again before he was able to get the word out. The word that made his heart palpitate and his hands begin to sweat.

And you won’t die.

Letting out a long breath, Dan pulled him closer, a hand on the back of his head to bury Phil’s face in his neck once more. “I don’t think our classmates will be very thrilled if I ask them to go to war with the academy. Especially after I’ve been such a dick this entire time.”

“You won’t know until you ask them,” Phil muttered into his shirt. He breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of Dan as his tears began to cease for the second time. It was surprising how calming Dan’s presence was.

They sat there in the quiet for a very long time, listening to the pitter patter of the rain around them. It was during that time when Phil realized with a start that Dan had taken off both of their masks to lay them on the ground beside the two. He wondered if Dan had done it when Phil was hysterical, therefore not even noticing when it happened.

“I’ve never really had someone who cared for me as much as you do,” Dan whispered while Phil leaned back to look at him. “Besides PJ, of course. But even after I’ve been an ass to you, you still manage to see the good in me. I don’t understand.”

Phil smiled plainly at him, feeling a bit self conscious about the swolleness of his eyelids. He pressed his fingers to his eyes and pressed down gently, trying to cool them off a bit. “My mum always taught me to be nice to people no matter what because everyone has different situations going on in their lives. I’ve never thought you were a bad person, and I was right all along. You’re amazing, whether you like it or not.”

Dan let out what could only be described as a giggle. He had a dimple in his cheek when he smiled and Phil’s stomach twisted in a way completely different to anguish. Phil was overcome with the urge to lean forward and kiss it, which was strange considering Dan was, well, Dan.

He did it anyways, his lips brushing against Dan’s dimple as light as he could manage. He felt the indent over his lips, a small crater of smooth skin that immediately heated up under his touch. “What was that for?”

“You have a dimple,” Phil said simply. He gazed at Dan, watching the way Dan’s lips were parted and his cheeks were dusted with pink. And they were out in the middle of nowhere under the rain, most likely going to be in trouble for being away from the Academy so long, but Phil didn’t really care at that moment.

He didn’t care when he pressed a thumb where his lips had just touched, or when Dan raised a shaky hand to brush his fringe away from his forehead. He didn’t care when fingers trailed lightly down his cheekbone, or when Dan suddenly leaned so close that he could feel his warm breath against his face. And he definitely didn’t care when Dan was pressing his lips to his own, kissing him slowly and with so much emotion that Phil couldn’t even comprehend that he was kissing a boy.

All he knew was that Dan Howell was kissing him, and that was more than alright.

When they parted, they were both breathing heavily and Phil noted with dulled senses that the rain had finally ceased. Dan wouldn’t meet his eyes, but he assumed it was because his face was so red that he was quite embarrassed of it. “We should head back,” Dan murmured, squeezing Phil’s hand as he moved to get up, pulling Phil with him.

They made sure to grab their masks, putting them on without a word. The silence continued all the way back to the school, both lost in their own thoughts about what had just happened between them.

Phil obviously didn’t particularly mind. If he liked kissing Dan, then that made no difference to him and he would probably still like it later on. But that didn’t stop him from being completely and utterly confused. Did Dan like him? Was he disappointed? Or did Dan just kiss him because it was the heat of the moment?

As if he could hear the thoughts going through Phil’s mind, Dan stopped before they entered Axel’s classroom and gently grabbed Phil’s shoulders. For the second time that night, he was leaning in and pressing his lips against Phil’s, and Phil felt like he was going to pass out at any given moment. “Stop thinking so hard,” Dan said with a soft expression. “I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t want to.”

That was all it took for Phil’s thoughts to silence and to face Axel.

Tomorrow, he’d deal with the aftermath of kissing Dan and trying to convince their classmates of overthrowing the dangerous ability class. But for now he would smile at Axel and pretend that he was alright as he tried to hide the smile from his face when Dan subtly held his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and let me know how you like it! I have finals next week and also move out of my dorm on thursday/friday so update may be later on friday depending on if i have it finished or not. Thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas so Dan and Phil decide to go on a date!

Their first course of action, of course, was to confront PJ. After PJ came Chris, who looked at Dan as if he was crazy before softening when he met Phil's desperate gaze. Phil had to explain what was happening: that the dangerous ability class was using Dan and Phil and many other students as their own personal assassin, “getting rid” of those who stand up against the academy and who could ultimately be a threat to the school.

"Fine, I'm in," Chris had said. "But only because Phil's looking at me like he's about to keel over."

From there, they moved onto Michelle who obviously agreed, and soon enough, the entire class agreed to be in on protesting against the school. They agreed even when Phil warned them of the dangers, of how terrible the school could be, but they all rolled their eyes at him.

"If the school hurts one of us, all of us get hurt," they stated.

The whispers among the class attracted the attention of Mr. Parker, who raised his eyebrows and smiled at them. "I've been wondering for years when this would happen," he murmured. "I'll help out as well. It’s about time someone took a stand against it.”

The entire thing was entirely hushed after that. No one really talked about it except for in quiet whispers behind cement walls of their bedrooms. Only talking in passed notes and scribbled letters. How, when, where. Phil was forever grateful to his classmates for helping him out when he most needed them to, for having Dan's back as much as he had theirs when he picked up the job in the first place.

But Phil couldn’t force himself to worry about his classmates or the rebellion at the moment, because it was Christmas, and Christmas was supposed to be filled with happiness. It was definitely not supposed to be filled with sadness, stress, and the oncoming threat of a war with their own school.

He awoke at the buttcrack of dawn with a vibrating buzz almost coursing through his entire body. Despite the fact that he had trouble sleeping the night before due to his excitement over the holiday, he still somehow managed to wake himself up early without feeling the slightest bit tired. His energy was off the walls and he didn’t even get dressed into his everyday clothing before he was bolting out the door.

His feet took him down the long hallway and down the stairs, to the third floor that had become quite familiar to him over the past week. The halls were dark, small paintings hanging on the white walls that had no composition besides splattered paint on canvas.

Eventually, he got to a door. It was a plain door, one that was the same as everyone else’s but with the words ‘Daniel Howell’ engraved in a metal slate by the room number. There was a scanner by the door as well, one that every person was recently granted so the use of keys wasn’t necessary. Made specially by the technical ability class, these contraptions scanned the person’s fingerprint to allow access into the room. It also gave the owner of the room an option to allow other people to enter the room by scanning their fingerprints.

Before, only Peej was allowed into Dan’s room, but after much begging and pleading, Dan caved and registered Phil’s fingerprint as well. And vise versa.

Phil scanned his finger with as much vigor as a person trying to fight a bull. The door clicked, unlocking with the command, and Phil hummed successfully. He barrelled his way through the now-opened door, stopping a moment to marvel at how pretty Dan looked when he was fast asleep.

Even though he had seen Dan in this position before, it didn’t make the fact any less magical. Dan’s face was smooth, his hair in little ringlets over his forehead and slightly covering his eyes. His lips were partly lightly and Phil resisted the urge to kiss them. He would in a second, anyways, so that kept him in his place rather than completely attacking the brunette in his sleep.

After creepily observing Dan for a few minutes, he finally allowed himself to launch forward, landing on the bed with a loud ‘oof’ from Dan.

“Phil!” Dan shouted, pushing him off with a glare that barely held any venom. “What the hell?” Despite his angry tone, his eyes were soft as Phil straddled him, sitting back on Dan’s thighs and grinning down at him.

“It’s Christmas!” Phil exclaimed, bouncing up and down a little. He stopped at the expression on Dan’s face upon realizing how compromising their position was, coughing and blushing a bit. He leaned down and pecked Dan on the lips, soft and chaste. “Get your butt out of bed, we need to celebrate immediately!”

Dan groaned and put an arm over his eyes. “Phil, it’s seven in the morning and the academy doesn’t even celebrate Christmas.”

“If you don’t get up, I won’t kiss you for the rest of the day.”

Dan paused, seeming to think about it before shrugging. “Worth it,” he muttered.

Phil glared down at him despite the fact that Dan couldn’t see him. He didn’t understand how he could be so enamored with such an asshole. “Dan!”

“Fine, fine, I’ll get up,” Dan grumbled, finally taking his arm off of his face. His beautiful brown eyes opened and looked sleepily up at Phil through thick black eyelashes. He made grabby hands towards Phil. “But only if you give me a kiss.”

Phil rolled his eyes and hopping off of the bed, shaking his head in exasperation. “No way! You just agreed that you wouldn’t get anymore kisses today since you wouldn’t get out of bed!”

He started to teasingly walk out the door when he was stopped by a body pressing to his back and arms encircling his waist. “I’m sorry,” Dan breathed in his ear. His breath was hot against Phil’s neck and Phil shivered. “I’ll be good.”

He decided to give in, turning so he was facing Dan. He leaned up slightly so he could press their lips together, humming in contentment. Dan sighed, rubbing his fingers in little circles over the skin of Phil’s love-handles. Phil deepened the kiss a bit, rubbing his tongue over Dan’s bottom lip until he was granted permission to explore his mouth.

Phil pulled away after a moment, crinkling his nose. “I think we need to brush our teeth,” he whispered and they both chuckled in agreement.

After brushing their teeth and doing their morning routine (Dan made sure to get every piece of hair straightened using some sort of technical straightening hair spray), they were ready to go. Go where? They weren’t really sure at the moment, but at least Phil was feeling rather festive in his ugly Christmas sweater.

“What now?” Dan mused, smirking at Phil when he froze.

“We celebrate?” Phil asked. He was rather embarrassed after realizing he had literally nothing planned, but that was quickly replaced when an idea popped into his head. He grinned, his face lighting up while Dan narrowed his eyes in curiosity. “Let’s go to Dahlia Town! I’ve only been to get my winter dance clothing, so it could be fun!” Dahlia Town, in short, was basically a very small outlet that had different shops and stores that held items made by either students or past students of the academy. They were always open no matter what day it is to give the students a bit of fun.

“Dahlia Town,” Dan echoed, raising his eyebrows. “I suppose we could go there.”

“Of course we can go there, I wouldn’t have suggested it if we couldn’t.”

“I’ll burn you.”

Phil snickered but pressed his lips to Dan’s cheek, feeling the skin warm up under his touch. He loved how he could make Dan blush like this when he was supposedly the ‘baddest boy’ in the school. In reality, Dan was complete and utter Phil Trash Number One.

They made their way through the hallways of the dorm carefully, making sure not to touch each other and to not walk so close. They weren’t exactly out about their relationship yet, deciding to keep it just between themselves to avoid the questions from their classmates and the wondering eyes.

Besides, making out in a janitor’s closet where you could get caught at any moment is rather erotic in Phil’s opinion. The danger of being found out made a rush go through Phil’s body, one that made him press into Dan harder, drinking him in and biting harshly at his lips while Dan sighed, tangling his fingers into Phil’s hair in order to pull him closer. It was amazing and Phil couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Dan Howell wanted to kiss him so much.

The walk to Dahlia Town was rather short, only about twenty minutes when strolling at a nice pace. The streets were bare at the moment, only a passerby here and there, chatting amongst their friends and enjoying the holiday festivity (Which wasn’t festive at all thanks to Dahlia Academy not celebrating Christmas as a whole). Phil wondered where all of the people were, but realized pretty quickly that they were most likely still in bed.

It was rather early, after all.

They ended up eating breakfast in a little cafe that sold the best muffins Phil’s ever had the pleasure of shoving down his throat. Not to mention the chocolate chip pancakes that Phil could have sworn came straight from the United States. Then again, what else could he expect from a school like Dahlia Academy?

Dan had smiled at him from across the table, his nose crinkling slightly as he took in Phil shoveling the unhealthy amount of carbs and sugar into his mouth. Dan smiling was still quite a strange sight, especially after the amount of grimacing and glaring he had done before, but it wasn’t unpleasant in the slightest. In fact, it made Phil’s chest go all fuzzy and his head feel a tad lighter than normal.

Phil only grinned back, tapping Dan’s foot under the table and watching with amusement as Dan’s cheeks turned a dusty shade of pink. After being with the brunette like this for the past few days, Phil had found out just how easily embarrassed Dan got whenever he did anything romantic in the slightest. He would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

He continued to shove syruppy bliss into his mouth while Dan continued to stare at him with those stupid heart eyes that he’d grown so accustomed to.

Christ, this breakfast was making Phil so sappy.

“There’s an ice skating rink,” Dan said suddenly when they were finished eating. There were napkins crumpled all over the table from the mass of syrup that tried to murder Phil’s fingers. “They do it every year and students get to go for free. It’s quite amazing, actually, because it’s… Well, I suppose you’ll just have to see it to understand.”

Phil rose his eyebrows at Dan, watching as the brunette smirked at him, otherwise saying nothing else. He pursed his lips and stood up, putting some money on the table for the meal, following Dan out the door and into the cold air of the small town.

Small flecks of white were falling from the sky, landing on the tip of Phil’s nose and making him shiver. “It’s a white Christmas!” Phil exclaimed, grinning. If he smiled any wider, his face would undoubtedly split in two. His breath made little puffs of fog blow in the air, looking like smoke from a cigarette.

Dan had a fond look on his face, one that was ever present whenever he even glanced Phil’s way anymore. He reached out and grabbed one of Phil’s hands, entwining their fingers together. His hand was cold with the winter air, but it was definitely warmer than Phil’s considering the way he let out a hiss and flinched a bit. “Jesus, you’re like a walking icicle, Phil.”

“Well, if I’m an icicle, you must be a volcano considering how hot you are.”

“I am pretty hot, thank you.”

Phil smacked him, glaring. “Don’t get too full of yourself.” He cleared his throat and said, “Again,” under his breath.

Dan just laughed, coming to a stop in the middle of a clearing, a cul de sac with pretty stone pavement. “We’re here!”

Phil furrowed his eyebrows. “Here?”

A chuckle and then, “Look up.”

Phil looked up. His eyes widened. His mouth fell open and he nearly lost his breath. “Holy shit,” he gasped.

Above them was a giant ice skating rink, four metal posts on either side of it that had large fans keeping it level in the air. He could see several people skating, making lines and circles of ice that showed through the bottom. He wondered briefly how the ice wasn’t breaking before realizing that physics doesn’t really apply to people with special abilities. And to top it off? The ice changed colours every few seconds, from sea green to maraschino red to sunshine yellow.

It was literally a dream come true, no matter how cheesy Phil sounds when he says that.

“Like it?” Dan asked.

“I freaking love it,” Phil said honestly. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking around. There didn’t seem to be a staircase or anything to get them up to the ice rink. “But how the hell are we supposed to get up there?”

Dan chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve been here for five months and you seriously don’t know anything about the academy, do you?” Phil opened his mouth to shoot back a smart remark before being shoved into silence by Dan forcibly moving him into an area of the clearing that had a small black square spray painted on the ground. “Thankfully, there’s such a thing as telekinesis.”

Moments after Dan finished speaking, Phil felt a pull in his stomach and he was suddenly being lifted into the air. He let out a squeak, his gut lurching uncomfortably as the ground got farther and farther away from his feet. He distantly heard Dan laughing at him, but didn’t pay any mind to it, instead focusing on how much closer he was before he could have his feet on solid ground again.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when his shoes finally touched metal. He nearly collapsed on the ground, ignoring the way a student was snickering beside him. He assumed the girl was the one with the telekinetic powers and was laughing at him for being a wimp. Which was only halfway true. While he was a huge wimp, he could also be pretty courageous when doing certain things, such as things for Dan or even planning a huge rebellion.

But levitating? No way, he’d rather face Axel than to levitate again.

A few moments later, Dan was beside him again with that aggravating smirk on his face. Phil wanted nothing more than to slap it off his face, but he didn’t and just settled for a mean scowl. “Don’t say anything,” he muttered when Dan opened his mouth. “Just show me how to ice skate.”

Dan rolled his eyes, extending a hand to Phil and pulling him into a standing position. “There’s skates over there.” He pointed to a huge box with dozens of skates piling in it. “It doesn’t matter what size you get, they automatically stretch or shrink to accommodate the size of your feet.”

Phil gaped at him. “You’re kidding me.”

“I mean, we are pretty magical right?”

Ignoring him (along with the telekinetic girl who seemed to be in shock that Dan Howell was even talking to someone other than PJ, much less going ice skating with him), Phil stalked over to the box of skates, grabbing a pair at random. He sat on one of the benches provided, mouth pursed into a tight line as he slipped his feet in the shoes, trying - and failing - not to act surprised when the fabric extended to the correct sizing. “Damn people who have cool abilities,” he muttered.

“And yours isn’t cool?” Dan asked, sitting beside him. His eyebrow was cocked and there was a smile on his face, that special one that just Phil was able to see. “You can literally control just about anything, considering most things have water in it. Not to mention that you’re the first person who’s ever been able to incapacitate my fire. A pair of shoes is hardly anything compared to what you can do.”

There was a warmth that spread through Phil’s fingertips and made his chest feel a bit fuzzy. His lips turned upwards and he leaned forward to bump his head against Dan’s shoulder. “Thanks, Dan,” he said. The gesture was a bit risky considering how out in the open they were, but he figured no one believe her if the telekinetic girl went around saying how Dan and Phil went ice skating together.

Considering how much they ‘hated’ each other in class.

Phil stood up abruptly, pulling Dan to his feet. “Let’s hurry then!” He said, grinning widely. “The ice won’t skate itself!”

The skates wobbled under his feet as he attempted to walk to the rink, almost immediately falling as soon as the metal skates touched the ice. Dan snickered behind him, but Phil just puffed his cheeks out and lifted himself back up. Only to fall back over again.

He really should have thought through this plan.

“Come here,” Dan said from beside him. Phil glanced up to see him holding out his hand, eyes warm like melted chocolates.

Despite his stubbornness, Phil reached out and clasped his hand, hoisting himself up with more effort than probably necessary. He wanted Dan to have as much trouble as he was, but it was obvious that Dan knew what he was doing. “Would have thought you’d be able to skate, considering you’re literally on top of frozen water,” Dan teased.

He started to push forward with Phil leaning heavily into his side as if Dan was a crutch. “Just because I am a water guru doesn’t mean I know how to walk on it,” Phil muttered.

“Shame. Must not be as powerful as I thought.”

Phil glared, noting the way snowflakes were sticking to Dan’s brown hair, slowly melting away as soon as they touched him. A sudden idea formed in Phil’s mind, biting his lip as he concentrated on the ice in front of them. Carefully, concentrate, and a crack notified Phil that it had worked, followed by Dan yelping and falling to the ground. He slid a few feet (on his bottom, no less) with a whimpered, “Phil!”

Phil chuckled and shrugged, staggering his way over to Dan and extending a hand. “It’s not like I would know the ice would magically crack at the precise moment! How strange, huh?”

Dan huffed and clasped Phil’s hand in his, making to get himself up. However, as he was starting to stand, he tugged roughly and Phil let out a loud squeal as he tumbled to the ground. Of course that made him fall on top of Dan, who let out a loud oof at the impact. “Phil,” Dan reprimanded once more, but his hands slid around his waist despite his tone, holding him in place. It was as if he didn’t even notice the few people staring at them in both curiosity and amazement. Or maybe he just didn’t care anymore.

“That was all on you,” Phil said, a teasing expression on his face. He went to stand back up but he was stuck in his place by Dan’s arms. Phil cocked his eyebrow (or tried to, he couldn’t really master the look yet). “What?”

Dan chuckled, smiling softly. Leaning forward, he kissed Phil straight on the lips without caring about the people gaping at them. “Thank you for making Christmas worthwhile,” he said quietly. “If I had known we were going to celebrate, I would have given you my ability stone now but I suppose it’s too late for that.”

“So it was you!”

Laughing, Dan pushed him off, helping him into a standing position. “Who else could it have been?” He shook his head, ruffling Phil’s hair. “You’re quite daft sometimes, aren’t you?”

They began skating, Phil finally getting a hang of it so he was able to stop leaning on Dan for support. It still didn’t stop him from holding his hand, though. He revelled in the way the ice changed colours and how they could see the entire academy and town from how high they were. Any higher and he would be able to touch the cotton candy clouds hanging over them. “So if you gave me your ability stone and I gave you mine, does that mean we’re technically engaged?”

“If we’re being technical,” Dan teased, winking at him. “When’s the wedding, then?”

Phil resisted the urge to shove him again. “Shut up!”

Dan just smiled and kissed his cheek, squeezing his hand. “Merry Christmas, loser.”

Phil snorted and did shove him this time. But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was smiling and there was a feeling that could only be explained as happiness in the pit of his stomach, warm and bursting through his chest. Dan was smiling widely next to him and there was almost no question about it.

This was probably the best Christmas Phil had ever experienced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sooooo sorry that I didn't update last week, I feel really really bad about it ): It was finals week and I was basically in tears the entire week from studying but the good thing is I passed all of my classes and got really good grades on all of my finals! I also finished my first year of college so I had to move all of the stuff out of my dorm and back into my parents house on thursday so that was fun c: Well, lemme know what you thought of this fluffy ass chapter and I'll see you next week~


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil go on a mission.

"I've got a mission for the both of you." Axel's voice was soft but it sent shivers down Phil's spine. There was an underlying hardness to his tone, a venom that was easily detectable despite the thin smile on his lips.

Phil despised it.

Dan crossed his arms, glaring down at Axel with a look equal to one of ice. He already had his mask on, hiding his identity to the world, and Phil slid his own on as well. The restraint on his finger was heavy against his skin, a reminder that Phil was no longer as powerful as he could be. "To what do we owe you this pleasure, your majesty?" Dan asked sarcastically, even bowing a little for show.

Axel didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He was already used to the way Dan was and he threw his head back and laughed, tapping his black fingers on the desk rhythmically. Tap, tap, tap. The sound was burned into Phil's brain. "Ryan Nelson, aged 24. Former student at the academy. It's been recently found that he's been smuggling weapons and agents posed as students into the academy in an attempt to bring us down. I expect you two to put an end to it."

Phil widened his eyes, swallowing back bile that was raising in his throat. "You mean-?"

"Phil." Dan cut him off with a stern, steady look. He turned back to Axel with a grimace on his face and a nod. "We'll do our best."

They left the room and Phil imagined that they were in a horror movie, Axel's (imaginary) cackles echoing down the corridor like the perfect antagonist he was. Oh, Phil couldn't wait to bring him down.

Once they were out of sight and walking towards the looming gates that trapped students inside of the academy, Dan reached out and took his hand. "Only a little bit longer," he breathed. He chanced a smile over at Phil, squeezing his hand. It made Phil's nerves diminish slightly. "I don't want you to do anything on this mission okay? Just leave it to me. I don't think I could handle if you killed someone for such a disgusting cause."

"But Dan! Your power-!"

Another stern look, one that was soft around the edges. The gates began to open and Dan let go of his hand. "The only thing that matters is your safety." He kissed him on the lips quickly and before anyone could see. "I'll protect you. I'll always protect you."

Phil's stomach was churning with butterflies but he frowned anyways. He was anxious, worried that today would be the day where Dan's power overtook him, burning straight through his heart and burning him down. He shook his head to clear those thought. No, he told himself, Dan isn't going anywhere. He's going to survive and he's going to be okay.

He could only hope it was true.

There was rain falling from the sky, drenching their clothes and making Dan shiver. Phil worried for a moment that it would affect Dan's ability, but realized quickly that would be a silly assumption. The water had the opposite effect on Phil, of course, who only became stronger the more submerged in water he was. His skin was glowing and his body was thriving in the raindrops, a human being who was practically algae.

That settles it then, Phil is algae.

He chuckled at his own ridiculous thoughts, ignoring the strange stare from Dan as he walked beside him. "I'm algae," he explained quietly, holding up his arm so Dan could see the water absorbing into his skin.

Dan scoffed, shaking his head. He was smiling. "Why am I dating someone so weird?"

Phil didn't answer, didn't really have to because the answer was obvious: Dan fell for him. He also didn't have to answer because they reached their destination, a small two bedroom house with brick walls and tall windows.

Phil took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was about to happen. It was only the third time he's done this so far and he had never once used his own power to do any harm. Dan had made sure of that, something about protection his innocence and his ability to continue smiling.

He really didn't see why it mattered though. Especially if he had to watch the whole thing as well as observe the aftermath of Dan's suffering.

It was much like the first time, except now, Phil used his ability to unlock the door. Water slithered from his fingertips and into the keyhole, freezing when he commanded it to and turning like a lock.

There was a click and the door swung open.

"Stay here," Dan murmured, giving Phil a tight lipped smile. He always got in a dry mood during the missions, most likely from the pain he was causing to others and to himself.

Phil just nodded, keeping his feet rooted to their spot. He watched as Dan retreated into the small house, quietly and with precise expertise. He watched as Dan turned on the gas stove, letting the gas run for longer than necessary.

The clicking noises of the stove were almost deafening and Phil could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

Dan turned around, a sly smile on his face. When he looked to Phil, his expression turned to one of alarm. "Phil, look out-!"

He barely had any time to register what was happening before he felt something hit the back of his head, knocking him to the floor. A burst of pain cascaded through his skull, a sea of red behind his vision. He could feel wetness matting his hair almost immediately and realized through his haze that he had been hit with a metal baseball bat.

"You bastard!" He heard Dan scream, a voice full of such fury and hatred that it made Phil's chest constrict painfully. He turned his head - his vision was blurring greatly and he had to squint to see - just as flames erupted around them.

There was screaming. Somebody was on fire. Phil couldn't tell if it was the man of interest or Dan. But perhaps it was both.

Phil felt arms wrap around him, hoisting him upwards and out of the burning house. His blurry vision revealed that it was indeed Dan. So he wasn't on fire, Phil thought, That's good then.

"Dan," Phil mumbled. Dan's eyes were wild when he looked at him. "Water bottle." Somehow understanding what he was saying, Dan nodded and starting walking in a different direction. Phil started nodding off but quickly came to when they came to a small creek, one with shining water and rocks breaking the peaceful waves.

Dan set him down by the side and he wasted no time in submerging his hand into it. Even if Phil was soaked from the rain, it still wasn't enough liquid to heal his injuries, so he was thankful they could find a creek this quickly. He watched through hazy eyes as the creek water flowed up his arm, swirling to the back of his neck and nestling in the bloody mess of hair on his head.

Immediately, the pain diminished and his vision became sharper.

He hummed. "Much better," Phil sighed. He then noticed how quiet Dan was beside him and turned, furrowing his eyebrows. "Dan?"

His eyes widened as he noticed the state Dan was in. He was breathing heavily, skin as pale as snow. His eyes were half closed and he was trembling, clenching at his chest with clawed fingers. A trail of blood slithered from his nose and down his chin.

"Dan?" Phil whimpered, scrambling over to him. He put a hand on Dan's cheek, wiping away the sliver of blood with his sleeve, not minding that it would stain the white of his uniform. "Dan, answer me!"

"'M fine," Dan muttered. The words caused what seemed to be a shock through him and he burst into a fit of coughing. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood and his head lulled backwards.

"Dan, you're not fine!" With gentle hands, Phil laid him on the ground, eyebrows furrowed when Dan's eyes slid shut. He was still breathing, thankfully, although a bit heavily. "Tell me what hurts."

"Chest," Dan said. "'M on fire."

Phil nodded. With his left hand, he dipped his fingers into the creek, shivering at the coldness. "I can't heal it because your body doesn't contain as much water as mine does, but I may be able to help with the pain. That way it doesn't burn as much."

Dan didn't respond as Phil put his hand on Dan's chest. He focused all of his energy on making Dan better, his fingers becoming cold and wet with moisture. He pursed his lips. Dan's shirt was causing a barrier and he would have to remove it if he wanted to make Dan in less pain.

He told Dan as much, who just nodded faintly and moved his torso slightly to help Phil shrug him out of the clothing. Phil didn't stop to marvel at the smoothness of his chest no matter how much he wanted to. He put his hand to Dan's skin, feeling his heartbeat, and pushed down.

Immediately, the water from Phil's hand absorbed into the skin and Dan visibly relaxed. Phil could feel Dan's body cooling down, becoming more like his normal temperature rather than the equivalent to lava. "Can you walk?" Phil asked, already knowing the answer.

At the shake of Dan's head, he hoisted him into his arms (after putting his shirt back on), thanking the lord that Dan wasn't as heavy as he looked. Dan nestled his head into the nape of Phil's neck, his breath tickling the tiny hairs there, but Phil didn't mind. He focused on walking as fast as he could to the academy, trying not to think about running away with Dan, and just making sure he could get him to safety.

The air was cold when he found himself back in the dangerous ability classroom. Dan had fallen asleep, his chest rising and falling while Phil made sure to continue cooling his body off. (He couldn't help but hope that his power was putting out the fire inside of Dan, killing the evil once and for all).

Axel seemed pleased when they returned, putting his fingertips together and tapping lightly. "Did you complete the mission?" He asked smoothly.

Phil nodded. "Dan used up too much of his power. I've subsided the pain for now, but I think he needs a bit of rest."

Axel nodded but his face hardened. It was obvious he wasn't happy, but Phil wasn't sure why. Didn't he know that Dan was dying? And why wouldn't he do something about it? "I see. Take him to his room. He has some pain medicine there, made by the technical students to diminish the pain of each episode. I suspect he will be out of it for a few days so I'll make sure to excuse him from class."

Phil tightened his grip on Dan, nudging him up further so he could feel his warmth seeping through his shirt. The way Axel was speaking was somewhat threatening but he found himself agreeing anyways, thanking him and backing out of the room.

His arms were dying by the time he reached Dan's dorm and he had to support Dan on the wall in order to scan his fingerprint. The door swung open and the scent of Dan's room (basically the smell of aftershave and mahogany) hit him in the face. As gently as he could, Phil set Dan on the bed before looking around for the pills.

He rifled around in a few drawers until he came across them, holding them up triumphantly. Just as he was about to shut the drawer, something blue caught his eye and he smiled warmly.

Dan had kept his ability stone in a drawer by his bed, set on a wad of tissue paper to keep it from getting scraped. Phil felt his heart swell and sat next to Dan on the bed, brushing his curling hair out of his face to press a kiss to Dan's forehead.

"Dan," he said softly. Dan blinked up at him blearily. "Take some medication, it'll help the pain."

When Dan had complied and swallowed the pill obediently, he tugged on Phil to lay down next to him. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil's stomach, bringing him close so he could rest his head in the crook of his next. Phil turned his head to kiss him softly, loving the way Dan sighed into his touch.

"You're the only medication I need," Dan joked weakly.

Phil chuckled and shook his head, pulling the brunet closer. He could feel Dan's heartbeat, beating in time with his own. He realized then that he never wanted to lose this, to give up such a wonderful feeling. He would do anything just to be happy with Dan, no worries ahead of them and no over looming threat of death.

He sighed. "Get some rest," he murmured. "We've got a big week ahead of us."

Sometimes happiness needs to be sought for first, Phil supposes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! Thanks so much for reading c: As you can see, I added how many chapters there were in the story. So there are 18 chapters and then a little extra part that I wrote for you guys in Dan's POV that I'll add at the end! The next chapter has smut in it so i'll probs have to change the rating for this story hahaha. Love you guys and lemme know what you think <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends there is smut in this chapter so i put a little warning before just in case someone is not comfortable reading it! Enjoy!

Phil awoke a week later to a loud tapping on his window. He blinked his eyes wearily, trying to dislodge the sleep from his eyes as the tapping continued. He yawned a bit, throwing his legs over the side of the bed to pad over to the window, socks shuffling against the floorboards. 

Without his glasses, he was pretty much blind, but he was still able to see Dan’s impatient face from behind the glass, mouthing at him to ‘open the fucking window it’s cold,’ and Phil still wasn’t sure if he was glad Dan was still the snarky asshole he was a week ago, or if it should have gotten on his nerves by now. He didn’t even want to know how Dan had climbed up to his window when his room was pretty far off of the ground. He then reminded himself not to question things when he went to a school for magical people.

He opened the window anyways, crowding the brunet into the warmth of his dark room and shutting the glass behind him. The cold air made gooseflesh rise on Phil’s arms, even more so when Dan was pressing himself to Phil’s chest, fingers flattening against the warmth of Phil’s stomach to expel some sort of heat into them. His skin was absolutely freezing and Phil shivered at the temperature. 

“About damn time,” Dan muttered. He had buried his face into Phil’s neck so the noise was muffled and Phil didn’t think he’d ever get used to Dan being so… Couple-y. 

“How long were you standing out there?” He made sure to rub the pads of his fingertips along Dan’s spine, trying to heat him up in that way. 

“Twenty minutes?”

“Why were you even outside in the first place? Our dorms are literally in the same building. You could have just come in through the door.” 

Dan fell silent at that and Phil laughed lightly, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. Dan shivered under his touch and shrunk away. Phil had found out just how sensitive Dan’s neck was a few days ago when they were having a pretty contained make-out session before class. He had tried to suck a hickey in the side of his neck, causing Dan to jump so high that he accidentally banged his nose into Phil’s eyebrow. For the rest of the day, Phil’s eye was mysteriously swollen and nobody could figure out why. 

“Tomorrow is the day of the rebellion,” Dan muttered lowly. He led them over to Phil’s bed where they crashed into the covers, seeking each other’s warmth and comfort. 

And it was true, what Dan had said. The rebellion was planned for tomorrow when the students would normally branch off into their ability classes. The only difference would be that nobody would actually go except for Dan. 

The plan was simple. Dan would go to class and tell Axel and Principal Glickstern (who for some reason enjoyed sticking around the Dangerous Ability class) and tell them to quit using the children as secret assassins. Obviously, they would refuse. Dan would threaten them a little bit, knowing they were still going to refuse to shut it down. Then the fun part comes. 

One of the students has an ability to make explosives unknown to humankind. It would be a very small one, about the size of a firework that would be place outside of the building where the collected students would be waiting. When all else fails, Dan will use a quick and minimal burst of power to make the firecracker go off. That’s when the students will march in and all hell will break loose. 

Phil couldn’t help but feel sad that they had to predict this outcome for the own dangerous students’ safety. 

Phil sighed and pressed a kiss to Dan’s nose. “Everything will be fine,” he whispered. He could see the worry behind Dan’s eyes despite the way he was trying to hide it. “After this is all over, you won’t have to use your powers as much and you won’t have to face the probability of dying so soon anymore.”

Dan snorted and rolled his eyes, but he was smirking a bit. “I’m more worried about you than myself you know,” he snickered. “With you being so clumsy all the time, who knows what could happen?”

Pouting, Phil slapped his shoulder and mimicked his eye rolling. He had long gotten over how easy being with Dan was now that he wasn’t trying to hide this side with a douchebag appearance. Granted, he was still like that to everyone else, but behind closed doors, Phil was able to see this side of him that rarely anyone else could. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

“How do I like you?” Dan teased lightly, but leaned in to press his lips to Phil’s anyways. He tasted like fire and sunlight, making Phil’s own temperature heat up with that single touch. 

They kissed for a bit, buried under mounds of blankets, until Phil’s lips were bruised and sore and he eventually had to pull away. “Don’t use too much of your powers tomorrow, okay?” Phil whispered, breath gently fanning against Dan’s lips. “Now that I know what it’s like to be with you, I don’t think I want to live without you again.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Dan sighed out, pecking Phil’s forehead. “But fine, I promise I won’t overdo myself.”

Those were the only words able to soothe Phil’s anxiety a slight amount, allowing him to lull into a deep, Dan-encased sleep. For the meantime, at least. 

He immediately decided upon morning that waking up to lips pressing kisses all over his cheeks was now one of his favourite things in the world, even more so when it was Dan. “It’s time for class,” Dan murmured, breath hot against Phil’s ear. His voice was husky from sleep, lowkey ranging on sexy in the way that made Phil want to push him against the pillows and roughly make out with him. 

So he did exactly that, rolling over so Dan was pinned lazily under his body. Brown eyes stared up at him in curiosity, warm and full of so much fondness that Phil could feel his heart stutter beneath his rib cage.

But before he actually kissed him, he decided to have some fun. “Wonder what Michelle and the Dan Howell Fan Club would say if they knew I had bad boy Dan pinned under me right now,” he teased. He didn’t let Dan protest, though, and leaned down to capture his lips in a long kiss. 

It was messy, filled with deep sighs, clashing teeth, and Dan clutching at Phil’s back as if he was afraid he’d disappear. In turn, Phil kissed him harder, fingers tangling into brown locks of curled hair. He kissed him like he would never see him again, a series of smacking lips and gasping for air. 

When they pulled apart, Phil eyed Dan’s lips, pleased. They were shiny with spit, red and bruised from being kissed so hard. And Dan was definitely the most beautiful thing Phil had ever laid eyes on. 

He voiced this much to Dan, who puffed his cheeks and pushed him off of his chest, forcing Phil to land on the floor with a loud thud and a whine. “You deserved it for calling me such a girly word,” Dan snickered. He peeked over the edge of the bed, hair falling into his face. Even upside down, he was still gorgeous. “I can’t be beautiful, I’m a manly man! The overlord of the manliest of men!”

Phil snorted and swatted up at Dan, swiping his cheek lightly. “Destroy gender roles, they don’t exist!” He paused and then, “Less gender roles, more sushi rolls.”

If it was possible for Dan’s eyes to fall out of his head from rolling his eyes too much, Phil imagined it would happen right now. “You need to leave immediately.”

“This is my room!”

“In that case, I need to leave immediately.” He moved to get off the bed, acting as if he was going to leave when Phil grabbed his wrist. In seconds, he collided onto the floor next to Phil, letting out a loud yelp and a few choice cuss words. “Phil!”

Phil pouted a lip. “Yes, dear?”

Dan glared at him, eyes glancing at him through thick eyelashes. It wasn’t really much of a glare but more of a look. A look that made heat pool in Phil’s stomach. “You need to make it up to me,” he uttered lowly. 

(Here is the smut if you are not comfortable reading it.)

Phil could barely think, his head dizzy as Dan kissed him again, biting at his lower lip with such fervor that Phil was sure his lip was torn a bit. He liked it though and the action made him growl low in his throat. His hands were sliding under Dan’s shirt, feeling the warm skin of Dan’s back, rubbing and pulling him closer, closer, closer. 

Without knowing what he was really doing, Phil tugged Dan up so they were both standing, disconnecting their lips for only a moment to rip Dan’s shirt off and to push him backwards on the bed. He collapsed on top of him, enjoying the way Dan was gasping out little noises and writhing beneath him. 

“We shouldn’t do this right now,” Dan mewled. He pulled off Phil’s shirt. 

Hypocrite, Phil thought. He didn’t say so out loud, just ignoring Dan as he worked his way down, kissing and nipping at Dan’s neck. Dan whimpered when Phil sucked a mark there and bucked his hips up in a way that made both of them suck in a breath. 

“Do you want to stop?” Phil asked softly. He didn’t particularly want to because Dan felt so good underneath him, but he definitely would if Dan wanted to. 

Dan shook his head, keening when Phil brushed his fingers over his nipple. “I’ve just-,” he paused to make another noise when Phil started to suck on the tender skin of his nipple, flicking his tongue against the nub and watching as Dan writhed on the bed. “I’ve never done something like this?” He squeaked. 

Phil stopped, gaping at him. “You’re a virgin?”

“You’re not?” Dan huffed back. He tangled his fingers in Phil’s hair, kissing him. When he leaned back, he seemed embarrassed, cheeks red and hair curling from sweat. “It’s just, I’ve never had sex before because I do something rather odd when I orgasm.” Dan looked away, putting his hands over his eyes and cheeks to hide himself from Phil’s expression. 

Phil hummed, going back to what he was originally doing and grinding his hips into Dan’s to make him moan loudly. “Can’t be that weird.”

Dan groaned, biting his lip. “I may or may not catch on fire when I cum.”

“Looks like you give ‘ruined bedsheets’ a different meaning, huh?” Dan shoved him, resulting in Phil giggling and moving their growing hard-ons together once again. Phil kissed him, their bodies flush together (as much as can be through jeans, at least). “In all seriousness, it’s a good thing your boyfriend can just put you out with his awesome water power or you’d be rather screwed, huh?”

“Stop talking, oh my god.” 

Phil complied, pressing their lips together once more before moving downwards, kissing Dan’s stomach. His fingers brushed against the bulge in Dan’s jeans, marveling at the way Dan immediately reacted to his touch. It didn’t take him long before their pants were gone and they were completely naked, Dan showing an expanse of golden skin that Phil would love to kiss every inch of. 

He decided to leave that to another day, and instead wrapped his hand around Dan’s length. Dan moaned, his eyes closed and his hips pulling upwards into Phil’s touch. “You’re so beautiful,” Phil breathed, ignoring how Dan glared at him. The glare didn’t hold much weight anyways, especially when his cheeks were as red as berries and his eyes were filled with lust. 

“I’m not- oh!” Dan sputtered, inhaling sharply when Phil flicked out his tongue against the head of Dan’s cock. 

Phil smirked at the noise and Dan covered his mouth, throwing his head back when Phil took the tip of Dan’s cock into his mouth and began to suckle lightly. His tongue lapped up the precome gathering at his slit before Phil loosened his throat and took Dan all the way into his mouth. Dan was like putty in his hands, keening when Phil ran his tongue over the vein on the underside of his cock, whimpering when he hit the back of Phil’s throat.

Phil pulled away after a moment, marveling at the way Dan’s dick was now coated with a thin layer of spit. “I’m going to get you ready, okay?” Phil asked, reaching over to his bedside table. He grabbed the little bottle of lube, the kind he grabbed from a shop in Dahlia Town that was supposed to protect from STDs and pregnancy, and squirted a bit onto his fingers.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Dan squeaked. He crossed his legs, looking up at Phil with wide eyes. “Who says I’m the bottom?”

Phil rolled his eyes playfully, sarcasm dripping from his tone so Dan knew he was joking. “You’re obviously a bottom.” At Dan’s glare, he snickered and leaned down to kiss Dan, biting his lip hotly and grinding down into him. At the friction, Dan let out a loud moan, one that was a bit high pitched and needy. Phil raised his eyebrow when he pulled away. “See? The noisy ones are always the receivers.” He was completely joking, and would switch roles if Dan wasn’t comfortable with it, but it was always funny to push Dan’s gears and see just how much the bad boy stance would waver.

“Fine, fine,” Dan snapped. His voice wasn’t angry though and his erection was hard and leaking on his stomach as he uncrossed his legs. He was now completely exposed to Phil, his head lolling backwards on the pillow as he stared at Phil through thick eyelashes. 

Phil almost came right then and there. 

He took a deep breath to calm himself, one hand rubbing soothing circles into Dan’s inner thigh while the other warmed the lube on his fingers. Slowly, he pushed one against Dan’s tight ring of muscles, pushing in up to his knuckle. Dan sighed, reaching down and pumping himself a few times. His eyelids were heavy, surprisingly unworried about the sexual aspect despite it being his first time. 

“You okay?” Phil asked worriedly. He started to move his finger, loving the tightness that Dan’s body possessed. He could barely even wait to be inside the boy. 

“Of course,” Dan muttered. He brought his hips down onto Phil’s finger, trying to move him along faster. “Hurry up, I’m not gonna break, you tweezer.”

Phil huffed but obliged, making sure his fingers had enough lube on them before adding another. “Just want to make sure your first time is pleasurable.” He watched as his fingers disappeared past Dan’s tight rim, scissoring them open and trying to stretch him correctly before adding the last finger. 

“I’m good, just get in me already.”

“I swear to god, Dan, if you don’t shut up I will just shove my dick in you right now and you will be in immense pain.”

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you cuss. That’s hot.”

Phil glared at the naked boy under him, but it wasn’t nearly as effective since he was pulling out his fingers and rubbing lube over his own length. He leaned his hips forward, nudging the tip against Dan’s entrance and decided to ignore what Dan was about to say in place of slowly pushing inside. 

Dan let out a sigh, something between pleasure and relief, and brought his hands up to clutch as Phil’s back. Immediate warmth was pressing against Phil as he slowly inched inside, trying his hardest not to buck into the heat. It felt absolutely amazing and Dan’s walls were pressing against him so tightly, almost sucking him in. 

When he bottomed out, Phil pressed his lips to Dan’s quickly, who bit his bottom lip before letting it ping back into place once Phil started moving. He started off slow at first, letting Dan get used to the feel of his shape and the way he was pushing into him in a way that allowed Dan to feel every inch. 

Dan let out a soft moan. His head was tilted to the side to show off his neck and Phil attached his lips to the skin there, biting and licking a mark that he might trouble hiding later. “Fucking hell, Phil,” Dan breathed. “Go harder, will you?”

And Phil did. He let out an elongated moan as he sped up his thrusts, the sound of skin against skin filling the room. Dan felt amazing around him, clenching and bucking into each of his thrusts and letting his fingernails dig into the skin of Phil’s back. Phil let his head fall into the crook of Dan’s neck, whimpering. 

“You feel so good, Dan.”

Dan moaned loudly, jerking himself off quickly. His hand was moving in time to each of Phil’s thrusts and his head was thrown back erotically. “I’m gonna cum,” he groaned out. 

Phil shivered at the way Dan’s voice was completely wrecked. He continued to pound harder into him until Dan was letting out a small whimper and he was coming over both of their stomachs. The way Dan was clenching around him made Phil cum as well, biting into Dan’s clavicle as he rode out his orgasm in little thrusts. 

Suddenly, the air seemed a lot warmer and Phil had almost forgotten about what Dan had said earlier. Shifting his head, he saw that Dan’s hair had caught on fire, the brown ringlets curling as if they had a mind of their own. 

Dan looked at him, half in alarm, and half sleep-ridden. “You gonna put me out or what?” He asked sarcastically. 

Phil snickered and swiped his hand over Dan’s forehead where there was sweat pooling on the skin. A moment later there was a sizzling noise as the flames died and Phil pressed his lips to Dan’s cheek, finally pulling out of him when he had gone soft. 

“See? We make a perfect match,” Phil murmured, running his fingers through Dan’s (slightly toasty) hair. 

Dan shoved him off, grabbing the sheet off the bed to wipe away the mess on his stomach. “We’re probably twenty minutes late to breakfast, are you happy with yourself, Lester?” He was smiling though, his eyes glowing and his skin taking on a golden shine. 

Phil chuckled and kissed him, humming. “Never been happier.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think and i'll see you next friday!


	15. Chapter 15

Groaning as loud as he possibly could, Dan pushed himself to a standing position, pulling Phil up beside him soon after. He was frowning, trying to seem intimidating, but his eyes resembled the golden honey Phil liked to mix into his tea. "We have ten minutes to get to breakfast. I hear going to war on an empty stomach isn't good."

Phil agreed briefly and followed Dan's movements while getting ready. Since they didn't have time for Dan to go back to his own dorm, Phil just lent him one of his extra uniforms, admiring the way it was quite snug around Dan's chest, making him look far broader than he actually was. "Okay, we might need to actually leave before I ravish you again."

Dan let out a laugh as he leaned forward and pecked Phil on the cheek. "I'll hold you up on that offer later."

The walk to the canteen was long, Phil had to resist the constant urge to reach out and hold Dan's hand, when all he wanted was to caress the soft skin in his and wipe away everything else. The anxiety of what was lying ahead was starting to gnaw away at his stomach, making it difficult to draw in each breath.

It would be so much easier if they were able to just ignore this issue, to sit idly inside while they lived their normal lives alongside the Academy. In another life, maybe Phil would've been able to spend the evening with Dan in bed, sharing lazy kisses and useless conversation that they would forget in the morning.

But the reality of the situation forces them to step outside the possibility of a comfortable evening, to take a stand against a giant force as a way to preserve the lives of Dan and however many other dangerous ability students there were. It was not a burden but merely a way to achieve a better life, a life where Dan Howell was still able to exist.

The canteen was quiet today, filled with the thickness of the day's upcoming event. A random comment here or there would fill the air, but the room was otherwise silent.

Chris smiled softly at Phil when he slumped in the chair beside him, but it didn't reach his eyes like it normally did. This wasn't a normal day, so Phil didn't ask if he was alright either. "You ready for today?" His voice was the definition of nonchalant, thumb tapping against the arm of his fork as he poked at his bacon.

Phil hummed through a mouth full of pancakes. Despite the syrup drizzled over them, he couldn't really taste anything and wondered if his taste buds were still asleep. "Ready as I'll ever be." He cast a glance over at Michelle, grimacing when he caught her glaring at him. Ever since the debate with the ability stone, she has had it out for him, going off about how Phil wanted to 'steal her man'. If only she knew how he already had him. "I'd be even more ready if Michelle would stop shooting daggers into the back of my head."

He heard Dan snicker across the table at that, but pretended to ignore him in favor of listening to Chris' response. "She doesn't want to admit that Dan has feelings for you and not her," Chris mused. At Phil's raised eyebrows he added, "Don't be so surprised. Anyone with eyes can see those stupid heart eyes."

"Sitting right here," Dan coughed. His eyes were cold like they always were in public and Phil couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction that he was the only one to see him without the scary persona.

"Just stating the truth, heart eyes Howell."

Dan scoffed and his glare hardened. Phil could see him gritting his teeth from the way his jaw suddenly tightened. "I can't wait til this rebellion is over so I can burn your lips shut," he snarled.

"That's fine," Chris shot back, "I'll just transfer the pain back to you so I don't have to feel it."

"Okay!" Phil exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Two pairs of eyes landed on him, breaking away from the death stare. "This is some good bacon, isn't it? I've never had bacon that was this good before, but here I am!" He took a bite out of a piece to strengthen his point. He immediately resisted scrunching his face up. It tasted like cardboard.

Both Chris and Dan visibly relaxed, letting out a series of quiet chuckles. Dan cast Phil a glance filled with warmth before turning back to PJ to talk about a topic unbeknownst to Phil, leaving Phil with a thawing Chris.

"He really loves you, doesn't he?" Chris whispered, voice low enough that it didn't drag the attention of Dan again. He seemed genuinely curious, hazel eyes sparked with interest.

Phil blushed, turning an ugly shade of peach pink. "I wouldn't say-."

Chris cut him off with an amused snort. "Come on, mate. Don't deny it. Before you came, he wouldn't talk to anybody besides PJ. If someone tried, he would threaten to burn then and would actually proceed to do it. Now? Yeah, he threatens but they don't hold any truth to them anymore. He's a lot... warmer than he was before you got here." He leaned back in his chair, dropping his fork onto his plate with a quiet clang. "If that's not love, I don't know what is."

Biting his lip, Phil contemplated this silently. He mindlessly mimicked Chris' own movements and leaned back in his seat, eyes finding the outline of Dan's jaw as it moved with his quiet speaking. He watched the way his hands excitedly began to wave around as he talked, like he was trying to use a nonexistent form of sign language that would correctly portray his story. His eyes were aflame, much like an actual blaze flickering to life.

He thought back to when he first met him, when Dan didn't want anything to do with him. His eyes were void of any light, void of any emotion, and his skin was sickly pale. Now, even his skin looked like it was glowing with the fire that was running through his veins. His voice used to be the epitome of venom, a contrast to the smooth velvet Phil heard him talk in this morning. There was definitely no doubt about it.

Where Dan used to not have any reason to live all those months ago, he definitely had one now.

"Do you really think he loves me?" It was Phil's turn to whisper, voice catching on the forbidden word. They hadn't used the word with each other before, using a much lesser version of it that still made Phil's heart spontaneously combust. He couldn't imagine what he would do if Dan had used a word such as love.

"I think he's loved you since the beginning," Chris replied. He hesitated, voice dropping even more if that was even possible. "Thank you. For saving him, I mean. It's a nice change to see him have the willpower to come to class and actually do something with his life."

When Dan looked over at Phil, all he saw was a large smile on his face, gazing at Dan as if he was his entire life. Hesitantly, he smiled back and his foot found Phil's under the table to kick it gently, a small sign of affection.

Love.

The word was in Phil's mind for the rest of the day, up until class with Mr. Parker. The room never ceased its silence that was present in the canteen so the only sound was the teacher's voice ringing through the room. Even that was tensed, waiting for the next thirty minutes to be up to see what the rest of the day would bring them.

Love.

Phil cast a glance over to Dan out of the corner of his eye. He was reading a book titled The Abhorsen Chronicles and his spiked shoes were up on his desk in his usual position. When Phil looked over at him, he looked up as well and caught Phil's gaze, shuffling a bit closer to him so their arms were brushing. Even though they were barely touching, Phil immediately felt warmer and more at ease.

He decided that he probably loved Dan as well.

It was stupid - completely idiotic - but he had probably loved him since they first met too. That was the only solution to his complete and utter obsession with helping him, of making sure he was able to continue living.

And Dan most likely loved him as well, if the mysterious ability stone was anything to go by. Dan had admitted it was actually he who had given him the stone, but Phil could barely grasp what meaning the stone held behind it. Technically speaking, they were engaged, but he didn't really consider them to be so when they couldn't even tell each other that simple four letter word.

Love is a strange thing, Phil decided.

The thirty minutes dragged on, each passing second more filled with the tense atmosphere of the students until it was nearly unbearable. Phil imagined that if the air had a consistency, it would be the same as thick butter. Dan was only able to lessen it slightly, smoothing fingers over Phil's palm when no one else was looking and giving him soft smiles every few minutes. While it didn't do much to ease the tension, Phil was definitely grateful to have even that much.

Soon enough, the awkward class ended, leaving everyone to file out of the room in a hushed silence. Dan and Phil held back, watching as the last of the students piled out to leave them alone for a few minutes of peace. While Phil was grateful for his fill of Dan's presence while he slept last night, he was always craving more.

"Please be careful today," Phil breathed. He glanced around the room real quick, making sure nobody was around before kissing Dan hard on the lips.

Dan allowed Phil to take control for a bit before he pulled back and pressed a kiss on the tip of his nose. "I'll be so careful that I won't even get a scratch," Dan promised. But for some reason, his eyes were sad. Phil decided that he was just worried and let it slip past him. "I'll see you on the other side?"

Phil chuckled, pecking his lips once more. "See you in another life where the Academy won't use us anymore."

The joking didn't help his unease, only managing to grow it more and more at each step toward the dangerous ability classroom. When they got to the doors, Dan kissed him with so much emotion that Phil nearly burst into tears, holding onto him as if it was the last time he was going to see him.

He memorized the way his lips felt against his, somewhat chapped but with an underlying softness. Tasting of fire and cinnamon. The words love died on Phil's lips, tightening before he could even utter them past his vocal cords.

As Dan slipped into the classroom, Phil headed back to the rest of the students outside and wished he wasn't such a wimp.

"You okay mate?" Chris' voice was quiet as Phil came to stand next to him, a silent agreement that he understood how worried Phil was and he wouldn't bring it up unless he wanted to talk about it. At his tone of voice, PJ looked over to them as well and gave them a small smile, tucking his chin into his chest.

"I've been better," Phil muttered. Even that didn't describe the way his heart was bursting out of his chest, a scream blocked in his throat that wouldn't disperse. Sure, he's been better, but he's also never felt such a low level of despair that feels as if he's submerged face first into deep, cold water.

Keep it together, Phil. Being a wimp isn't going to do you any good when you're about to go to war.

A presence on his other side notified him of PJ, who had come to stand beside him. His expression was grim, nearly mimicking Phil's own, and his voice was tired when he spoke. "I know it's hard to let Dan go off like this, especially when he's been doing so badly lately. But Dan is a person who wants to look out for the people around him, even at the cost of his own life. I know how much he loves you, I've seen it and you've changed him more than you know, and I know how much you love him as well." He patted Phil on the back, hand gentle and comforting. "Dan isn't going to die today, he isn't that far gone yet. After we win today, you'll have the rest of your lives ahead of you."

Phil nodded and steeled himself, thanking PJ with more certainty than he was feeling before. Dan would be okay, Dan wasn't that far gone yet. Dan is strong.

He opened his mouth to bring up a different conversation, one that was much more light-hearted, one that would make them all feel a bit less anxious. But before he could even utter the words, a loud crack burst through the air and everyone's attention turned to the small firework that had spontaneously combusted, small strings of glitter streaming through the air.

The air was quiet, everyone holding their breath as a thick aura of dread flowed into their lungs.

The rebellion had started, and there was no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I was going to put the rebellion in this chapter but then the chapter ended up being too long so i decided to split it up c: Or maybe i just like seeing you guys suffer xD But i love you and thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: Violence, vomiting, in-depth detail of pain, blood

In complete and utter spontaneity, the group exhaled, preparation for what was about to come. Phil glanced around the group, noting that there were at least two-hundred people siding with them, faces he had never even seen before, kids from many different high school classes and even some wearing the middle school clothing (including a white blazer and yellow tie). In one movement, they all began to push forward, making their way into the school to confront the Principal and dangerous ability teacher.

As if in complete and utter sync, like the entire class was one huge entity, the air became thick with sudden war. Phil's eyes widened at the sight of so many different powers coming together, soaring through the air in a mass of swirling, crackling, and- was that glitter? Phil rolled his eyes at Tyler's power, dipping his fingers into his own water bottle. As if glitter could do any damage (although he supposed it would hurt like a bitch if it got into your eyes).

He couldn't see Dan, and his stomach was twisting in anxiety, but he pushed those thoughts away as a man appeared in front of him. It was as if he had just appeared out of nowhere. It didn't even occur to Phil that the idea was completely possible in this place, but he couldn't think of anything at the moment when there was a huge man in front of him holding something that resembled a gun.

Was this the school's security? And they were willing to shoot a student?

Phil shuddered as his fingers came in contact with the coolness of his water, feeling the smoothness of the liquid come up to meet his touch. He drew his arm backwards, keeping his eyes on the man as he dodged forward, only to meet the cool attack of Phil's whip made from water and quickly freezing ice. It was nothing he had ever done before, the water holding little ice crystals in place to allow the weapon to resemble that of a whip, completely mobile but still managing to do damage.

With a yelp, the man stumbled backwards, holding his face in his hands as blood began to pool through his fingers and onto the floor. Phil didn't have time to feel bad about it, instead turning around and leaving the man where he was curled on the ground, clutching his nose. During this war, Phil had made a prior agreement where he refused to kill anybody. In fact, it was one of the major rules they, as a group of classmates, had set. They just wanted to force Axel and Principal Glickstern into submission, not to kill anybody who came in their way. To kill people would be to stoop to their level, and that was the major thing they didn't want to do.

He waded through the mass of fighting, trying to slip through as quietly as he could while looking out for their two targets. They seemed to have completely disappeared along with Dan, who was nowhere to be found. Phil's anxiety increased when he made eye contact with PJ, who gave him a concerned frown before turning his attention away from Phil and back to the guard, vines growing from his fingers to wrap around the person's arms, tearing the gun away from their grip.

Phil turned away then, shivering at the sight of his close friends head-to-head with armed guards. He couldn't help but feel guilty that this was all his fault, that people were getting hurt because of him. If anyone died, it would be because Phil had initiated this war. Everybody in this fight was now under his conscious and that meant he had to bear the weight that someone could get hurt because of his actions.

But he couldn't think of that now, for the damage was already done. And besides, he couldn't afford to think when there were guards throwing themselves at him with all their might, pushing guns in his face and trying to taunt him with the possibility of death. He wasn't scared though, no. Not when he had something to protect. Someone to protect.

So he moved on, his fingers growing cold from tucking inside his bottle of water, but he tried not to pay attention to it. He could only focus on the people attacking him, trying to move them out of his way so that he would be able to find Axel and Principal Glickstern to stop this utter madness. The loss of students' lives was not a fair trade for the act of keeping a stupid dangerous ability class for their own personal gain.

A blow to his head left him scrambling backwards, landing on the floor with a sharp pain up his spine. Something wet was dripping down his forehead and he hissed at the sudden pain that stabbed through his nerves when he realized he was bleeding rather heavily. Snarling, he touched his bleeding forehead and ran the thick liquid through his fingers, wiping it on his uniform with annoyance.

The guard who hit him - with a gun, no less - stumbled back a bit when Phil dipped his fingers into his water and pulled an ice spear right out of his ass. Okay, not literally, but that's basically what it looked like. It's not like he was going to kill the guy, anyways. He was just going to smack him around. The spear was thick in his hand, freezing cold with a sharpened point. The guard stayed firm, standing tall and pointing the gun in his direction when Phil decided to strike. With a quick movement, he had knocked the gun out of his hands and he shivered as the tip of the spear came in contact with the man's skull. The impact was just strong enough to draw a deep line through the man's forehead before Phil turned the spear and hit him over the head, effortlessly knocking him out.

And just like that, the guard was knocked out cold with a trickle of blood running down his forehead, right where he'd injured Phil moments before. Payback's a bitch and Phil held in the urge to snicker.

However, Phil's smugness didn't last long.

Immediately he was pushed to the ground, a group of five guards holding him down while he kicked and screamed. He felt his water bottle slip from his grip and roll over the floor, far enough away that he couldn't reach it. His fingertips reached toward it, eyes widening at the sight of his fingers just barely out of reach, and he nearly went limp with the realization that he couldn't do anything without that bottle of water. "Let me go!" Phil screamed, thrashing his body on the ground, glaring up at the men.

He froze. The entire room froze. He wasn't sure if it was because his ears were ringing too loud to hear anybody else, but there was only silence that greeted him.

"Hello, Philip," Axel purred from above him. Then he smiled and Phil felt his blood run cold. He was just standing over him, not touching him while letting the guards hold him down. "Do you remember what I told you my power was?"

"No," Phil spat, wrenching his arms from the men's grips. The only thing that succeeded in, however, was nearly popping his shoulder out of place. They were both fully aware what Axel's power was and Phil's heart was beating out of his chest with fear.

Axel laughed loudly and Phil wasn't wrong when he thought the room was silent. Why the hell was everybody just letting this happen? Shaking his head in amusement, Axel began to slide the rings off his fingers. He left on just one, a silver one on his ring finger that was in the shape of a snake, black jeweled eyes glinting in the pale light. "You know, I'm impressed," he cooed. "Normally students can't possess that much power when they have their restraints on, but somehow you've managed to get around them just fine." He glanced over Phil's restraints pointedly. Then he slid off his mask. Phil stiffened. "Not quite sure how you got around that one, Philip."

His eyes were cold, bottomless pits of never ending blackness. Phil nearly had to look away because it was almost painful to keep his gaze. But he didn't, instead staring back at him in almost a challenging way. "Maybe I'm just too strong," he shot back. He hoped Axel didn't hear the way his voice was quivering or the way his arms were shaking under the grip of the guards.

Axel narrowed his eyes at him and Phil swore he could feel his soul shrivel. "With only one restraint on, I have the power to inflict excruciating pain on a person. It's the same pain someone would feel if I wasn't wearing my ring, the same pain they would feel before they die. Except you simply won't." He dropped to his knees, basically straddling Phil, and extended a finger towards his forehead. Phil tried to shrink away but ended up not being able to due to the floor below him. "I'll have fun watching you writhe in pain," Axel hissed. Phil barely registered when Axel's finger came in contact with his forehead and only noticed when an excruciating pain echoed through his body.

He let out a loud scream, curling in on himself as much as he could when there were men holding him to the floor. His stomach churned and lurched forward. It felt as if his head was splitting open, little white and red pins being stuck into his eyes, slowly, so slowly. He vaguely remembered turning his head and vomiting on the floor. He was crying, sobbing, and he was sure it would never end.

But then it did, and he looked up through his teary eyelashes at Axel, who was now standing with his attention focused elsewhere. His gaze was cold, unamused, and Phil followed his line-of-sight to find Dan.

Dan, Dan, Dan!

He felt a burst of joy at the sight of him. That was, until he realized the state he was in and the joy quickly diminished, swirling into the floor like it was water down a drain. Dan's hair was in bloody, tangled ringlets over his forehead and he was sweating, panting heavily. His arm was bracing himself against the wall and Phil could see it trembling from his weight even from meters away. Dan looked as if he could barely stand, but his expression showed that he was absolutely furious. The flame was ignited inside of him and Phil was scared he wouldn't quench it this time.

"Let. Him. Go," Dan snarled. The normal edge to his voice was gone, though, replaced with exhaustion. Phil could feel himself start to shake.

Axel cackled humorlessly. He waved his hand around while he spoke, reiterating his point, gesturing wildly to the state Dan was in. "What do you think you could possibly do, Daniel?" He sneered. "When you're in this state? You think you can protect him?" 

"Dan, don't," Phil said quietly, pleading with his eyes. He didn't know if Dan could even hear him, especially when he was speaking so softly, but he was praying, hoping, because Dan had promised he would be safe today.

Phil saw Dan glance over at him, physically relaxing when he saw that Phil was okay, before immediately hardening once more. Even when he was tired, his glare was still one of the scariest things in the universe. It held a thousand flames buried into one scorching gaze. "Lay a finger on him, I dare you."

Axel laughed again, shrugging. "If you say so." He lunged forward in record time, pressing his fingers to Phil's chest and that burst of pain was right back, reducing Phil to a sobbing mess.

He tried not to focus on the pain, though, wrenching his eyes open through his shameless tears to keep his eyes on Dan. He looked like he was literally about to explode, and was that the pain talking or did the temperature just rise drastically?

"Dan," Phil gasped when he saw the look on his face. Phil was still doubled over in pain, Axel's hand still pressing to his chest, but Dan's expression sobered him a bit. Dan had glanced over at him and gave him a sad smile. His expression showed the most emotion that Phil's ever seen, so melancholy that it literally hurt Phil's chest. There were a thousand words in that small smile, Dan's eyes darkening just a tad when their gazes met. Phil couldn't breath, and not just because Axel was using his power on him. "Dan, please don't."

"I love you," Dan replied.

"Dan, no!"

Everything burst into flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont hate me


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: This contains character death. I would like to remind everyone that this also has a happy ending so please don't worry c:

There was a moment where everything was white and Phil's ears were ringing as if there was some loud explosion. He could barely see, a certain brightness in the room that was completely overwhelming.

He vaguely realizes that his arms and legs were free, the guards previously restraining him letting out loud yelps and running out of the room as if there were rabid dogs on their asses. There was someone screaming and, was that him? He couldn't tell.

All he could focus on was Dan and how there were flames surrounding the entire room. Axel was frozen to the spot and there were several guards either staring in terror at Dan, or even just lying on the ground unmoving with flames enveloping their bodies.

It was when Dan pressed a hand to his chest, coughing erratically, that Phil came to his senses, scrambling to his feet. "Dan, Dan, Dan," he babbled. He was stumbling, tears and smoke making it nearly impossible to see correctly.

Dan fell to his knees, clutching at his chest as if he was trying to claw out his heart. His eyes were clenched shut tightly and he was breathing so heavily that his shoulders were shaking under the force. There was a low groaning noise forcing its way out of Dan's mouth and Phil couldn't fucking get to him fast enough when there were people in his way.

"Dan, stay with me," Phil called again, and finally he reached him, kneeling by his side and smoothing his hair out of his face. "I love you, you know that?" Phil asked forcefully through his own sobbing breaths. Dan's face was so pale and he was sweating, his breathing slowing with each inhalation. Phil didn't want to see it, didn't want to think about what that meant. "We are going to get out of here and we are going to live happily ever after. One day, we can get our own house together with flowers and a dog or two and we don't ever have to think about Dahlia Academy ever again because we will be happy with each other. Would you like that? I'd love that more than anything."

He was babbling, he knew that, but he couldn't seem to stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. The fighting had stopped around him, or maybe that's because he could only focus on Dan at the moment, but nothing else really mattered.

Dan smiled softly. His eyes were still closed and he wasn't breathing as hard anymore, the shaking of his shoulders having ceased almost completely. He was deathly pale and there was still sweat pooling on his forehead, but he reached out and grabbed onto where Phil was brushing his hands through his curly brown hair. "I love you so much," Dan whispered, and he was so quiet that Phil was sure he may have not even heard him at all.

Dan went still. His breathing ceased and his hand dropped to the floor. Phil started to shake.

"Dan?" He whimpered, grabbing onto where Dan's hand dropped. It was like all of his normal body heat was sucked away, dispersing into the floorboards beneath them. "Dan, please."

There were hands on his shoulders, grabbing him, pulling him, trying to drag him away, but he tore himself from them, clinging onto Dan like he was his reason to live. "You can't leave me," Phil screamed. He buried his nose into Dan's neck, feeling the hairs tickling his nostrils when he breathed in. He inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled once more.

Then he let out the most bloodcurdling scream that he could possibly muster. His chest felt like it was on fire and he could barely breathe anymore, tears running down his face and dripping onto Dan's cool skin. He kept screaming, sobbing, until his throat was raw and he couldn't make anymore noises.

From his subconscious, he heard a loud thump, followed by a series of disbelieving gasps.

It was this that made him glance up, still holding Dan tight to his chest. His blood immediately ran cold.

There were no guards left standing, each and every one collapsed to the floor. A few feet away, Phil saw Axel splayed on the floor, a thin trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth. Phil could feel bile rise in his throat.

"What happened?" He stuttered, but it came out raspy, so completely different that he barely recognized his own voice.

PJ sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. There were tear tracks down his face and he seemed to be trying to not look at Dan. "They just dropped to the floor," he murmured, his own voice thick with emotion. "You started screaming and they went down."

"I- I don't understand."

Chris spoke up next, his lip quivering when he met Phil's gaze. His eyes, which were normally so happy, were filled with pain. "Blood," he eventually got out. "Blood is made mostly of water."

If Phil hadn't already used up his tears, he would have started bawling all over again. Instead, he started to rock back and forth. He imagined he was rocking Dan to sleep and that Dan was just taking a nap in his arms. "I killed someone?" He asked, shivering. "Multiple people?"

Chris and Peej dropped their eyes to the floor and Phil became aware of the group of students that pooled around them. "I'm sorry, Phil," Chris whispered.

Someone cleared their throat.

The entire group turned to look at Michelle, who was steadily holding Phil's gaze. Like everyone else, she seemed sad, but considerably less so. She smiled at him and Phil had to blink to make sure he was seeing correctly. "I may be able to help," she said. "With Dan, I mean. But it doesn't come without a price."

Phil's eyes widened in realization and if he wasn't cradling Dan so close to him, he would have shot to his feet. "Necromancy," he breathed. "You can fucking bring people back to life."

Michelle took a step forward to sit in front of him. She then narrowed her eyes at the hundreds of students surrounding them. "Leave," she snapped. "I can't work with you all breathing down my neck." The group rolled their eyes drastically and began to slowly trickle out of the room, leaving only Michelle, Chris, PJ, and Phil. Apparently Michelle only allowed Chris and PJ to stay because she needed Phil to be in a 'friendly environment,' whatever that meant.

Finally, she sighed, rolling her shoulders with a satisfying pop. Her golden eyes glanced down to Dan, lips pressed into a thin line, before she met Phil's gaze again. "I can help, but it comes with a cost," she repeated.

"Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me," Phil muttered. He ran his fingers through Dan's hair, refusing to look down at him.

Michelle huffed, but her voice was soft when she responded. "Dan loves you," she sighed. "I haven't seen him look at someone with that much admiration and he would kick my ass for letting you be this sad. I can't just let him die after he's finally found something to live for."

Phil nodded, tears pricking in his eyes again, but willing for them to go away. "What do I need to do?"

"My ability allows me to basically talk to the dead. However, if the person has recently died, meaning that their soul is still in purgatory, I'm able to put that person's soul back into their body. It's like alchemy though, in which I can't bring someone back to life without a cost." She took a deep breath. "When Dan comes back, he will still be able to use his power, but not to the extent that he used to be able to because his body won't be strong enough to handle that amount of power. Instead, he can use it in short bursts that won't affect his lifespan."

"That's it?"

Michelle looked away. "No. In order to bring him back, I have to take something valuable from the person who wants to come back to life. In other words, your memory. If you choose to bring Dan back to life, you will have no recollection of him or anything to do with him. Because Dan has been so rooted into your memories, you will not be able to keep any recollections of the academy or those in the academy. Your powers will also be repressed if I do this, meaning they will only be of use a few years after the procedure. Since you will not be able to use your powers, you will have to leave the academy."

Phil felt his heart sink. "Why my memories? Why not something else? Will Dan remember me?"

"The memories are what makes Dan come back to life, what give him a reason to continue living. It's the only way for this to work. He will remember you, so when he gets out of the academy, he will be able to come find you again if he wishes to."

Phil nodded, stealing himself. Finally, he allowed himself to glance down at Dan, running a finger over his cheekbone and trying not to pay attention to how cold he was. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to Dan's forehead and whispered, "Hopefully I'll see you again. I love you." Then he straightened up and met Michelle's soft gaze. "I'd rather not remember and have Dan alive than have my memories with Dan dead."

Michelle nodded, rubbing her hands together as if she was putting lotion on. "Very well."

Phil laid Dan on the floor, his heart bursting out of his chest. He turned to PJ, giving him a tight hug, before doing the same to Chris. "Hopefully I'll see you again!" He said, and he grinned. Then it was time to pay attention to Michelle.

"Lay on the floor and close your eyes," she ordered, and Phil did what she said. He reached over and grabbed Dan's hand, entwining their fingers together. "When you wake up, you'll be back at your house with your parents. They will be notified not to say a word about your time here with the academy. If at any time during the procedure you feel uncomfortable, let me know. Are you ready?"

Phil nodded, squeezing Dan's hand. He swore he could feel Dan squeeze back.

"Let's begin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all I'm sorry! Secondly, next is the epilogue! After I upload the epilogue there will be an extra part uploaded the next day of a part in Dan's POV (: Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	18. Epilogue: Two Years Later

“PHIL!”

Phil jumped high in the air at the exclamation, nearly dropping his stack of textbooks on his toes. He turned to glare at Yazi with as much poison as he could muster, trying to make it seem like he was actually angry at her. He couldn’t keep the act up for long, however, immediately softening when his gaze met her pretty brown eyes and the way she was twirling a piece brunette of hair around her index finger. “Don’t scare me like that,” he mumbled, shoving his books into his backpack with great haste.

Yazi rolled her eyes, adjusting her own cat backpack on her shoulders. “I’m coming to your house with you,” she ordered without question, and Phil was used to it so he didn’t question her either. Their university wasn’t very far from where they lived, only about a twenty minute drive (Phil thanked the lord every day that Yazi knew how to drive, because he sure as hell couldn’t). She started ranting about some guy who tried to hit on her that day while she was trying to order food from one of the dining halls, but Phil wasn’t listening.

He had been having some strange dreams lately, ones that kept him up at night and made him wake up with sweat covering his chest and a strange blush on his cheeks. There wasn’t really much to remember in them, if he’s being honest, but there was always the flash of brown eyes, sometimes cold as ice, but other times as warm as a flame. He would dream about lips on his skin and soft brown hair that he would run his fingers through. The dreams would keep him up at night despite how relaxing they truly were.

Yazi stopped talking and he snapped out of his thoughts when he recognized the strange look on her face. “You thinking about it again?” She asked softly. She didn’t seem very annoyed, just understanding laced with a bit of curiosity. This was why she was Phil’s best friend.

“Yeah,” he admitted, looking down at his shoes. These weird dreams had started around two years ago when he woke up in the hospital with no recollection of the past year of his life. His mum was there, forehead creased with worry, and explained to him that he had fallen and hit his head pretty hard while he was doing some housework. However, when he was rubbing his head, he felt no bumps or bruises on his scalp, but he didn’t question it because his mum wouldn’t lie to him. His mother then had to explain what had happened over the past year, saying he had enrolled in a university for english language and linguistics and had gotten a ‘lovely girlfriend’ who he later broke up with because he didn’t really like her.

He couldn’t help but notice that his mum wouldn’t look at him when she was relaying the information, but he didn’t question that either, or even why he suddenly couldn’t control water anymore.

Yazi was a girl that he met when he starting going back to uni. She’s only a year younger than him and was in one of his creative writing classes. They had sat next to each other without speaking for about two months before Phil accidentally spilled an entire cup of coffee on her dress. Instead of getting angry though, she just said a lame pun that makes Phil want to punch himself in the face to this day.

Well, looks like someone spilled the beans! Get it? Coffee beans?

They’ve been inseparable ever since and Phil is so glad that he found a friend like Yazi.

Yazi pursed her lips as she pulled out of the parking lot. She reached over to the car radio and flipped it on, the sound of Lady Gaga blasting through the speakers like everything was perfect and good. “You’ll definitely remember that time someday, okay?” She yelled over the music. She reached across the seats to grab Phil’s hand, who smiled thankfully at her and entwined their fingers. It wasn’t anything other than platonic, especially since Phil recently came out as gay and Yazi had laughed and replied with ‘same’. “But until that day comes where you magically remember whatever it was that you forgot about, you should just focus on what life throws at you and enjoy it. Focusing on the past is only going to make you more anxious.” She threw him and grin and squeezed his hand before pulling away. “Now let’s get you home as quick as possible so we can shove ice cream down our throats and complain.”

Phil definitely didn’t have a problem with that idea.

The drive seemed longer than usual, even with Yazi’s high pitched singing filling the air. Eventually, they pulled up to Phil’s house and scrambled in, trying to race each other to the freezer to get first dibs on the ice cream.

“Move out of my way, loser! The ice cream’s mine!” Yazi squealed.

“This is my house, you can’t just come in here and eat my ice cream!”

“Phil?” A soft voice said from the doorway.

Phil and Yazi froze where they were, with Yazi hanging from his back as he kept the ice cream out of her reach. She slid from his back with a lighthearted giggle, covering her mouth while Phil stared awkwardly at his mum. “Yes, mum?”

His mum laughed at their positions, shaking her head in amusement. “A couple of guys came by about ten minutes ago and said they were looking for you? They said they’re from school so I sent them up to your room to wait for you to get home.”

Phil blinked and Yazi seemed taken aback. Guys? Looking for him? He didn’t even have any guy friends at school after coming out, so who the hell was in his room? “Er, alright,” he said slowly. He glanced over at Yazi, having a five second conversation through expressions before she nodded.

“So, Mrs. Lester, how have you been lately?” Yazi asked cheerfully. Phil watched as she put an arm around his mum’s shoulders and led her to the lounge, leaving him alone to figure out what was going on.

He took a deep breath as he started up the stairs, feeling a bit anxious. There was no saying who could be in his room right now and his mum wouldn’t know better, of course, because she thought that he had a lot of friends. That was obviously not the case, though, and his hand was trembling as he opened the door to his room.

Hushed whispers were cut off as soon as the doorknob started to turn. Phil opened the door to silence and three tall men staring at him.

There was one with brown hair and hazel eyes who had a grin plastered on his face and one right next to him with curly ringlets of brown hair and emerald irises. Those two looked rather pleased to see him, their stances wide and welcoming and their faces lit up with large smiles.

The last guy, however, was just staring at him with a sort of awed expression, like he couldn’t believe Phil was there in the first place. He had pretty toffee eyes and straight brown hair that was styled in a fringe. His skin was pale but his cheeks were growing redder by the second, his fingers playing with a loose thread on his shirt. He seemed vaguely familiar but Phil couldn’t put a finger on it, only gazing back at him as he tried to pinpoint where he knew him from.

An image of lips brushing against the skin of his neck popped into Phil’s head, but he pushed them away.

The guy with green eyes was the first one to speak up. “Phil!” he exclaimed. With that, him and the other smiling man were rushing towards Phil, enveloping him in a hug.

Phil stiffened at the feeling of two strangers wrapping their arms around him. He didn’t know them and he wasn’t exactly the touchy-feely kind of guy, so this was an extremely awkward situation. “Um?” Phil stuttered, trying to wriggle himself free. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

Everyone froze at once. Phil blushed dark red. The two men pulled away and looked over at the third guest, who’s eyes had gone cold.

“Ah-,” Green Eyes started, clearing his throat. He looked sad. All of them did. “I’m PJ.” He pointed to Happy Guy Number Two. “That’s Chris, and,” pointing to Fringe Dude, “that’s Dan. We, ah, know you from a couple of years ago?”

Phil’s head was starting to hurt. A few years ago? He didn’t remember a couple of years ago. “I don’t recall?” He squeaked. He felt rude. It was pretty clear that these three guys thought very highly of him and he was just a huge douchebag for not remembering who they were.

“We know, Phil. We-.”

Chris was cut off by Dan slamming his hand down on Phil’s desk. The room went quiet again for the third time that evening, three pairs of eyes gaping at Dan as he glared straight at Phil. “You,” he snarled. His eyes were red and Phil was confused because the room suddenly seemed a lot hotter than it was a few minutes ago.

He stepped back, starting to sweat. “Me?” Phil yelped.

Dan stepped closer, so close that Phil was tempted to shrink backwards. He could see the flecks of gold in Dan’s pupils and was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. He swears he’s seen those eyes before. “Do you know how fucking confused I was when I woke up and you weren’t there? Only come to find out that you weren’t even in the same vicinity as me. As soon as I woke up I was asking for you, you know, and Michelle - fucking Michelle - had to explain to me that you weren’t allowed to come back to the academy after giving up your memories to bring me back to life or some shit. It felt like I died all over again.”

Phil’s mouth fell open. Dan was so close that Phil could smell his aftershave, something woody and spicy and familiar. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was so utterly confused that he felt as if his head would split open. “I- what?” He stuttered, gaping around at the group. PJ and Chris just smiled sadly back at him.

“I’ve been waiting to see you again for two years,” Dan muttered, running a hand through his hair in exasperation, “and you don’t even fucking remember me.”

“Dan, Michelle warned you of this,” PJ said softly, putting his hand on Dan’s elbow in an attempt to calm him down. “She said that Phil probably won’t remember unless something is strong enough to spike his memories.”

“What, I’m not a strong enough reason to bring his memories back?” Dan scoffed. His face was now resembling a pout. Not going to lie, Phil found it rather endearing.

A shuffling noise behind Phil alerted him to the presence of Yazi. He turned to smile encouragingly at her, but was stopped when he found her staring weirdly at Dan. “You okay-?” He started, confused.

“Dan?” Yazi asked. Her face warped into an expression of wonder.

Dan blinked, his cool demeanor melting away. In that moment, he looked like a child who just found his mother again after getting lost. “Yazi?” He breathed.

“You guys know each other?!” Chris, PJ, and Phil all chorused at once.

“That’s my fucking brother,” Yazi whimpered before launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around Dan with so much force that he was knocked backwards onto Phil’s bed. She was sobbing, something that Phil rarely got to see, and had only seen once when her girlfriend had broken up with her. “The police told us you had died in the fire,” she cried. “Where have you been, you jerk?”

He buried his face in her hair, patting her with a large (and slightly awkward) hand. His eyes were closed, hugging her back tightly. “I’m sorry, it was my fault,” he murmured. His voice was muffled by Yazi’s hair. “I have a power where I can manipulate fire and it got out of hand that time. They shipped me off to a place for people with special abilities like mine and I only was able to get out a few days ago.” He took in a deep breath. “I didn’t know you were still alive. I thought I- I killed you.”

Yazi snorted, but that may have been because her nose was clogged with snot from crying so hard. “As if you could kill me off,” she muttered. When she had calmed down a bit, she backed away, wiping her eyes. She glanced between Dan and Phil, deep in thought. “How do you know each other?”

Phil shrugged at the same time as Dan’s face fell. “Two years ago, Phil had transferred to the same school as I was in,” he started and Phil’s blood ran cold. This is it, the time that he was missing. “He was forced into the academy for being able to control water. Admittedly, I wasn’t the best person at the time and I was really rude to him. I couldn’t help it, though. He was so happy and saw the good in everyone and I hated him for it.” Dan looked away, down at his black studded shoes. “Obviously, I stopped hating him and starting having the opposite feelings. We both loved each other, I believe.”

Phil shivered. Dan’s expression was familiar, moreso now than it was before. He couldn’t help but yearn to fall into Dan’s arms, which was quite weird because he didn’t understand this feeling in the first place. Was this the reason he stopped trying to date anybody these past two years? “Wait,” Phil interrupted. Four faces turned to stare at him. “Is this why I can’t remember anything? Do you know why that happened?”

Dan pressed his lips together and Phil thought he could see tears well behind his eyelids. It was PJ who spoke up, his voice so quiet that Phil had to strain his ears to hear him correctly. “Dan had an ability that was taking away his lifespan every time he used it. The academy was using him as their personal assassin because his power is so dangerous, but it was ultimately killing him. You helped us come up with a plan to rebel against the academy, but it ended up leading to Dan’s power consuming him and he had, er, died.”

“But he’s right there?” Phil asked.

Dan sighed, pressing his thumbs to his eyes. His face was pale, tired. “Michelle - this girl from the academy - has the power of necromancy that allows a person to bring someone back to life if they give something up. You chose to give up your memories and to repress your powers in order to bring me back to life.”

It felt as if Phil was being punched in the face. He couldn’t breathe, could hardly see the people standing in front of him. He vaguely recognized Yazi calling his name, asking if he was alright, but he didn’t hear her. “Yazi Howell,” Phil murmured distantly. He squinted, shaking his head. “Dan Howell.”

He probably sounded crazy, but Phil didn’t really care at the moment. There were various thoughts running through his head, a rollercoaster of pictures that were suddenly making sense. The lips on his skin were Dan’s, kissing his shoulders as Phil held him close, brown eyes the colour of hot chocolate with swirls of whipped cream. Hair that curled at the ends and skin that was warm against his, complete opposites. Phil’s head was pounding.

“We had sex,” Phil said after a moment, matter-of-factly. He could remember it faintly, little pieces here and there like ripped papers trying to be put together. He envisioned the way Dan was underneath him, sweat pooling on his forehead, his mouth slack and his eyes filled with an emotion that Phil could only describe as love. His throat closed at the image, eyes wet for a reason unbeknownst to him.

Dan blanched at his words before his cheeks were turning a dark shade of red that looked rather beautiful on him. The rest of the guests shuffled a bit uncomfortably, and Phil had a moment of embarrassment when he caught Yazi’s shell-shocked gaze. Oh god, he slept with Yazi’s brother. “You can’t just say things like that,” Dan whined, resting his head in his hands to hide the colour of his cheeks.

There was another flash within Phil’s mind, one where Dan was laying on the floor, his eyes cold and skin white, and Phil’s chest constricted painfully. He was fully crying now, tears running down his cheeks while everyone gazed at him with soft eyes. His lip trembled and he was suddenly moving forward, his feet having a mind of their own. “Dan, Dan, Dan,” he mumbled over and over, wrapping his arms around Dan’s waist and burying his face into Dan’s shoulder.

This time, he smelled like aftershave, but he also smelled like home.

Dan immediately responded, his arms encasing Phil so tightly that it seemed as if he would never let go. “Thank god,” Dan breathed. His nose was nuzzling into Phil’s hair, his fingers brushing against the exposed skin on Phil’s back where his shirt was riding up. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“Shouldn’t it be me saying that?” Phil whimpered. There were various images crossing through his brain now, things that he had forgotten like the feeling of Dan’s skin against his and the way he felt tucked into his arms. He sniffled, lifting his head so he could look into Dan’s eyes, bringing his hand up to brush his fingers over Dan’s cheek. “Never leave me again, okay? You’re stuck with me forever.”

Dan laughed, his voice cracking with happiness and his eyes shining brightly. “I wouldn’t want anything else,” he whispered.

Phil decided in that moment to throw away all inhibitions. He leaned up the extra few inches and pressed his lips to Dan’s, completely melting under his touch. He tasted like fire and comfort and Phil didn’t understand how he could go two years without having Dan in his life. When they pulled away, Dan was grinning so wide that his dimple was showing and Phil would be lying if he said he wasn’t smiling as hard as he was. “I love you,” Dan murmured softly.

Dan’s eyes crinkled as he pressed a kiss to Phil’s nose. “I love you too,” Phil replied. “Welcome home.”

He glanced around at the entire group. Dan, PJ, Chris, Yazi, all smiling warmly at him with a certain vibrating warmth emanating from them. In that moment, Phil knew that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! There's going to be an extra part in Dan's POV posted on Sunday so look forward to that! Love you and let me know your thoughts! I'm currently in florida so sorry I haven't been responding to your replies, I will do so when I get back home (:


	19. Dan's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the extra part you’ve all been waiting for! Special thanks to @phandommother (on tumblr) for being like “Rachel pls write a part in Dan’s POV where they first meet” and obvi i like to make things happen xD Enjoy!

Dan’s POV

As soon as Dan woke up that morning, he could tell it was going to be a shitty day.

Peej had burst into the room with news of a new student, something that he didn’t particularly care about in the slightest, and he seemed to have burnt his bedsheets while he was dreaming again. Not to mention that the pain in his chest was getting considerably worse each day, stabbing, burning, aching, all the way down his spine and numbing his legs.

So a new student? He couldn’t exactly be excited for it, could he?

“C’mon Dan, at least show a little bit of interest!” PJ whined, watching as he sprayed some straightening spray over his curly locks and got dressed in the infamous Dahlia Academy uniform. It was no secret that he hated the two colours - white and blue - so he was bound to be in a harsh mood if he had to wear them every day. At least he had his disgustingly spiked shoes or else he might as well just die right then and there. “We haven’t had a new student since we joined the academy three years ago, so this is exciting!”

Dan shrugged, scowling. “There’s nothing to be excited about,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s just going to be another person who despises me. Why should I be excited about that?”

He didn’t have to glance at Peej to know that he was frowning, Dan’s name dying on his lips as Dan began to walk out the door. The walls were relatively quiet as everyone was already in the dining hall. A harsh ring notified Dan that he had, indeed, missed breakfast and his stomach growled in protest.

He doesn’t know why he does this to himself.

As they walked through the halls, Dan could already feel PJ steeling himself up, making himself seem more bad and venous than he truly was. While Dan understood that Peej did it for his benefit, to show Dan that he wasn’t alone and to ward off anyone that might piss Dan off, he didn’t understand why Peej would sacrifice his own social life for Dan’s comfort. He was a blessing, really, and Dan loved him for that, but sometimes he wish he didn’t hold his friend back from making other relationships.

He sat down in his usual seat in the back of the room, PJ on one side and an empty seat on the other. He wasted no time in getting a book out (today’s choice just happened to be Sybil) and putting it over his face, feet heavy on the desk in front of him. It was his daily routine, one that made him relax and look unapproachable while being able to snooze the day away.

The teachers didn’t dare say anything to him about it. Not after last time, when he set the classroom on fire and made class be cancelled for a few days. Even then, he still didn’t get punished, would never get punished when he was Axel’s prized possession and the academy’s best student.

The quiet of the classroom came to a stop and Dan vaguely recognized the sound of the door opening. Then Mr. Parker was speaking, a mixture of nervousness and surprise. “Ah, Principal Stevenson! Is this the new student?” 

Dan didn’t move, didn’t even look.

“This is Phil Lester and he will be in your care for today, Mr. Parker. He needs a partner assigned who can show him around campus and help him with his studies.”

Dan felt a cold chill go through his spine. The empty seat beside him was suddenly too close, suffocating him. He resisted the urge to switch places with Peej, to hide behind him like when he set his entire city in flames and PJ was there to let him sob into his shoulder. He was the only person without a partner, and he could imagine the worried look that Mr. Parker was giving to Principal Glickstern.

“Very well,” Mr. Parker said quietly. “The only person who doesn’t have a partner yet is Dan Howell.” There was a pause where Dan imagined he had cringed. They all do whenever they mention his name. “You may sit next to him for today, all the way in the seat at the back.”

There was a shuffling noise, nervous footsteps echoing around the silent room. A body sliding into the seat next to Dan and he couldn’t help but be a tad confused when the air went slightly colder. And then, “Hi! I’m Phil Lester. Looks like I was assigned to be your partner.” The voice was deep, slightly northern, but extremely enthusiastic despite the disinterest Dan was clearly showing.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Dan reached up and dislodged the book from his face. It took him a moment to process who was staring at him, taking in the restraints on his ears and gauging Dan’s cool expression.

The first thing Dan noticed was blue. This guy’s eyes were so blue that Dan suddenly forgot how to speak, thinking of swimming pools and the sky when there were no clouds ruining the expansion of blue, blue, blue. As he continued to stare, he realized that there were also flecks of sunshine yellow and grassy green, giving the complete picture of a grassy field below a sunny blue sky. Once he could tear his eyes away from Phil’s, he took in the black fringe, hair so soft looking and straight that Dan immediately cursed him for having such beautiful hair. Phil’s skin was a porcelain white, smooth and unblemished and Dan could feel a burning in his chest that wasn’t quite like the normal pain.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything. “Shut the fuck up, ugly,” Dan eventually uttered out. He scowled immediately after saying it, wanting to slap himself. That was not how you pick up cute boys, Dan.

But to his surprise, Phil just smiled, a smile straight from the sun with his tongue even poking out of the corner of his mouth. “I was assigned as your partner,” Phil repeated. “I’m Phil Lester. I assume you’re Dan? It’s nice to meet-.”

Dan meant to cut him off, to maybe even apologize and start over, to tell him that he didn’t have to repeat himself because he heard him the first time, but that was definitely not what came out. “I said shut the fuck up.” There was a heat in Dan’s cheeks, embarrassment coursing through his veins. He wanted to curl up in a ball and never come out of his room again. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t just have a nice conversation with a cute boy and why he had to ruin every possible relationship he came in contact with.

Phil’s notebook caught on fire and Dan tried not to act surprised. He didn’t even mean to light anything on fire and it still happened, screwing everything up more. Well, he might as well abandon all hope and just go with it, pretend that it’s what he meant to do all along. The flickering flames made his head tingle, a migraine coming along, and he had to get out of there fast.

He watched as Phil sighed, putting a hand over the flame without even flinching. His left hand dipped into a water bottle sitting in his lap and he shut his eyes, eyelashes kissing his cheeks. The entire class was watching, waiting to see what his ability was and how he would handle Dan’s wrath.

Dan almost didn’t notice a thin stream of water trailing to his fingertips, branching out like vines before his flame disappeared into a mass of steam that floated back into the bottle and literally melted into water. He then glanced up at Dan, his lips tilted upwards slightly in amusement. “Fire manipulation, huh?” Phil said. “That’s cool.”

Dan could feel the blood rush to his face and his chest collapsed a little, making it hard to breathe. He had used too much of his power today, combined with last nights dream making him spontaneously combust, and now Phil’s notebook. He was undoubtedly about to pass out in approximately twenty minutes. “It’s much better than that lame ass water trick you did,” Dan said, glancing over at Peej. He widened his eyes a bit, conveying that they had to get out of there immediately. “PJ, let’s leave. I’m done trying to put up with this utter twat.”

He didn’t really mean it, but he had to get out of there. Thankfully, Peej understood, standing and following Dan as he walked out the door, not looking back. Once they were out of sight, it was then that PJ spoke. “You okay?” His voice was uncertain.

“I need to go back to your room,” Dan hissed, his hand clenching at his chest. He was doubled over, his lungs feeling as if they were on fire. Peej didn’t say anything else, just helped Dan up and rubbed his back as he curled in on himself. It wasn’t anything more intense than his usual, just something that he had to take some deep breaths through and hope it went away relatively soon. It always did, and he was glad that Peej would be there when he woke up from his funk with a glass of water and a smile on his face as if nothing had happened.

He knew not to ask about it, and he knew what would make Dan happy, and god Dan was so lucky to have PJ as his best friend.

“I should go back to my room soon,” Dan murmured, rubbing his eyes. He took a swig of water and set it down on the nightstand, smiling thankfully at Peej. “Thanks for looking after me, as always.”

“I’ll always take care of you,” Peej said, grinning back. “Be careful on your way back and please don’t use your power anymore today.”

Dan agreed and was sent on his way, walking down the hallways a bit slower than normal. He couldn’t help but think of Phil, of who he was and how he had stopped his fire with just the flick of his hand. He was powerful, beyond powerful, and Dan couldn’t help but feel a sliver of jealousy at that fact. Because Dan was powerful, but he was paying for it, and Phil wasn’t.

Voices soon made their way into his ears and he came to a stop, not really wanting to deal with anybody right now. He hid behind the corner, hoping they would leave soon so he could continue into his room.

“-burned down his entire town three years ago, which is why he ended up coming to school here. The government hid it by stating it was arson.” Chris, that asshole. Dan felt a surge of anger swell in him but tried to stifle it. He couldn’t use his power anymore today, he had promised PJ and he frankly didn’t want to feel the pain that came along with it anyways.

“Even if it was his fault, it’s not really anybodies business, though.” Dan recognized that as Phil’s voice and his jaw hardened. He felt sick to his stomach. “He probably didn’t do it on purpose, anyways. Kids do things they don’t mean to sometimes, and he hadn’t had the proper training for his ability back then that he does now. And who knows? Maybe he’s so bitter now because of that incident. We should really just stop judging people based on how they act.“

Even after hearing about what Dan did, Phil wasn’t judging him? For some reason, that made him angrier. He wanted him to hate him, to despise him and never want to talk to him again. It’s what he deserved, after all, for being so heartless and for killing his entire family. He stepped around the corner, trying to conceal a snicker at the way Chris’ eyes grew to the size of saucers. It was almost as if he’d seen a ghost.

But nope, it was just Dan. And Dan was much, much worse.

“Stop acting like you know a damn thing,” Dan snarled. He was sure his face was red from fury and embarrassment but that didn’t matter because Phil was looking at him with something akin to sadness and understanding. He wanted Phil to stop, he didn’t want him to pity him. “Keep my name out of your damn mouth.”

Phil grinned at him, always grinning ever since he met him. Dan was furious. How could he be so happy all the time? How could he smile when Dan was such an asshole? He should punch him, call him names, tell him how Dan should go to hell, because that’s what he deserved. The fact that Phil wasn’t doing anything of that sort was both infuriating and endearing and Dan didn’t know what to do about those two completely separate emotions. “Say what you want,” Phil said, “but I refuse to think that you’re as bad as you make yourself seem.”

Dan blinked. His stomach dropped and he forgot how to breathe. He recovered quickly though, steeling himself and hiding whatever expression had taken over his face. He shoved Phil out of his way, noting how cold and smooth Phil’s skin was against his, and he scoffed. “Just stay out of my way if you know what’s good for you.”

He left and Dan was confused on whether he should hate Phil or admire him for being such a ray of sunshine on Dan’s dampened day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This fic has truly been a journey and I'm so lucky to have you all here with me for it c: If you liked my works, you can follow me on tumblr @phansdick or I post all of my oneshots and other writing things on here as well! Let me know what you think xoxo


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